Kejadian 6:9--11:32
Konteks6:9 This is the account of Noah. 1
Noah was a godly man; he was blameless 2
among his contemporaries. 3 He 4 walked with 5 God. 6:10 Noah had 6 three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:11 The earth was ruined 7 in the sight of 8 God; the earth was filled with violence. 9 6:12 God saw the earth, and indeed 10 it was ruined, 11 for all living creatures 12 on the earth were sinful. 13 6:13 So God said 14 to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, 15 for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy 16 them and the earth. 6:14 Make 17 for yourself an ark of cypress 18 wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover 19 it with pitch inside and out. 6:15 This is how you should make it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 20 6:16 Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches 21 from the top. 22 Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks. 6:17 I am about to bring 23 floodwaters 24 on the earth to destroy 25 from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. 26 Everything that is on the earth will die, 6:18 but I will confirm 27 my covenant with you. You will enter 28 the ark – you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 6:19 You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh, 29 male and female, to keep them alive 30 with you. 6:20 Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive. 31 6:21 And you must take 32 for yourself every kind of food 33 that is eaten, 34 and gather it together. 35 It will be food for you and for them.
6:22 And Noah did all 36 that God commanded him – he did indeed. 37
7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. 38 7:2 You must take with you seven 39 of every kind of clean animal, 40 the male and its mate, 41 two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven 42 of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, 43 to preserve their offspring 44 on the face of the earth. 7:4 For in seven days 45 I will cause it to rain 46 on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”
7:5 And Noah did all 47 that the Lord commanded him.
7:6 Noah 48 was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed 49 the earth. 7:7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because 50 of the floodwaters. 7:8 Pairs 51 of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground, 7:9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah, 52 just as God had commanded him. 53 7:10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 54
7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep 55 burst open and the floodgates of the heavens 56 were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell 57 on the earth forty days and forty nights.
7:13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives. 58 7:14 They entered, 59 along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. 60 7:15 Pairs 61 of all creatures 62 that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female, 63 just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.
7:17 The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed 64 the earth, and the ark floated 65 on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated 66 the earth so that even 67 all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet 68 above the mountains. 69 7:21 And all living things 70 that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 7:22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life 71 in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord 72 destroyed 73 every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. 74 They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. 75 7:24 The waters prevailed over 76 the earth for 150 days.
8:1 But God remembered 77 Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over 78 the earth and the waters receded. 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, 79 and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily 80 from the earth, so that they 81 had gone down 82 by the end of the 150 days. 8:4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat. 83 8:5 The waters kept on receding 84 until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible. 85
8:6 At the end of forty days, 86 Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 87 8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying 88 back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.
8:8 Then Noah 89 sent out a dove 90 to see if the waters had receded 91 from the surface of the ground. 8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered 92 the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah 93 in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, 94 and brought it back into the ark. 95 8:10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 8:11 When 96 the dove returned to him in the evening, there was 97 a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 8:12 He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, 98 but it did not return to him this time. 99
8:13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year, 100 in the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that 101 the surface of the ground was dry. 8:14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth 102 was dry.
8:15 Then God spoke to Noah and said, 8:16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 8:17 Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you. Bring out 103 every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase 104 and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!” 105
8:18 Noah went out along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 8:19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.
8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 106 8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma 107 and said 108 to himself, 109 “I will never again curse 110 the ground because of humankind, even though 111 the inclination of their minds 112 is evil from childhood on. 113 I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.
8:22 “While the earth continues to exist, 114
planting time 115 and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
and day and night will not cease.”
9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 9:2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. 116 Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. 117 9:3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. 118 As I gave you 119 the green plants, I now give 120 you everything.
9:4 But 121 you must not eat meat 122 with its life (that is, 123 its blood) in it. 124 9:5 For your lifeblood 125 I will surely exact punishment, 126 from 127 every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person 128 I will exact punishment for the life of the individual 129 since the man was his relative. 130
9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, 131
by other humans 132
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image 133
God 134 has made humankind.”
9:7 But as for you, 135 be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
9:8 God said to Noah and his sons, 136 9:9 “Look! I now confirm 137 my covenant with you and your descendants after you 138 9:10 and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature of the earth. 139 9:11 I confirm 140 my covenant with you: Never again will all living things 141 be wiped out 142 by the waters of a flood; 143 never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee 144 of the covenant I am making 145 with you 146 and every living creature with you, a covenant 147 for all subsequent 148 generations: 9:13 I will place 149 my rainbow 150 in the clouds, and it will become 151 a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 Whenever 152 I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you 153 and with all living creatures of all kinds. 154 Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy 155 all living things. 156 9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember 157 the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”
9:17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things 158 that are on the earth.”
9:18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Now Ham was the father of Canaan.) 159 9:19 These were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated. 160
9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, 161 began to plant a vineyard. 162 9:21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself 163 inside his tent. 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, 164 saw his father’s nakedness 165 and told his two brothers who were outside. 9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment 166 and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned 167 the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.
9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor 168 he learned 169 what his youngest son had done 170 to him. 9:25 So he said,
The lowest of slaves 173
he will be to his brothers.”
9:26 He also said,
“Worthy of praise is 174 the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem! 175
9:27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers! 176
May he live 177 in the tents of Shem
and may Canaan be his slave!”
9:28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 9:29 The entire lifetime of Noah was 950 years, and then he died.
10:1 This is the account 178 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 179 were born 180 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 181 were Gomer, 182 Magog, 183 Madai, 184 Javan, 185 Tubal, 186 Meshech, 187 and Tiras. 188 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 189 Askenaz, 190 Riphath, 191 and Togarmah. 192 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 193 Tarshish, 194 the Kittim, 195 and the Dodanim. 196 10:5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.
10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, 197 Mizraim, 198 Put, 199 and Canaan. 200 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 201 Havilah, 202 Sabtah, 203 Raamah, 204 and Sabteca. 205 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 206 and Dedan. 207
10:8 Cush was the father of 208 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 209 before the Lord. 210 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 211 of his kingdom were Babel, 212 Erech, 213 Akkad, 214 and Calneh 215 in the land of Shinar. 216 10:11 From that land he went 217 to Assyria, 218 where he built Nineveh, 219 Rehoboth-Ir, 220 Calah, 221 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 222
10:13 Mizraim 223 was the father of 224 the Ludites, 225 Anamites, 226 Lehabites, 227 Naphtuhites, 228 10:14 Pathrusites, 229 Casluhites 230 (from whom the Philistines came), 231 and Caphtorites. 232
10:15 Canaan was the father of 233 Sidon his firstborn, 234 Heth, 235 10:16 the Jebusites, 236 Amorites, 237 Girgashites, 238 10:17 Hivites, 239 Arkites, 240 Sinites, 241 10:18 Arvadites, 242 Zemarites, 243 and Hamathites. 244 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 245 from Sidon 246 all the way to 247 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 248 Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.
10:21 And sons were also born 249 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 250 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 251 Asshur, 252 Arphaxad, 253 Lud, 254 and Aram. 255 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 256 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 257 Shelah, 258 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 259 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 260 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 261 Almodad, 262 Sheleph, 263 Hazarmaveth, 264 Jerah, 265 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 266 Diklah, 267 10:28 Obal, 268 Abimael, 269 Sheba, 270 10:29 Ophir, 271 Havilah, 272 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 273 Sephar in the eastern hills. 10:31 These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.
10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread 274 over the earth after the flood.
11:1 The whole earth 275 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 276 11:2 When the people 277 moved eastward, 278 they found a plain in Shinar 279 and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, 280 “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” 281 (They had brick instead of stone and tar 282 instead of mortar.) 283 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens 284 so that 285 we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise 286 we will be scattered 287 across the face of the entire earth.”
11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people 288 had started 289 building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language 290 they have begun to do this, then 291 nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 292 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse 293 their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 294
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 295 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 296 Babel 297 – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.
11:10 This is the account of Shem.
Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11:11 And after becoming the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other 298 sons and daughters.
11:12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 11:13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other 299 sons and daughters. 300
11:14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 11:15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other 301 sons and daughters.
11:16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 11:17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 11:19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 11:21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 11:23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 11:25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
11:26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
11:27 This is the account of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 11:28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, 302 while his father Terah was still alive. 303 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, 304 and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; 305 she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there. 11:32 The lifetime 306 of Terah was 205 years, and he 307 died in Haran.
[6:9] 1 sn There is a vast body of scholarly literature about the flood story. The following studies are particularly helpful: A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic and the Old Testament Parallels; M. Kessler, “Rhetorical Criticism of Genesis 7,” Rhetorical Criticism: Essays in Honor of James Muilenburg (PTMS), 1-17; I. M. Kikawada and A. Quinn, Before Abraham Was; A. R. Millard, “A New Babylonian ‘Genesis Story’,” TynBul 18 (1967): 3-18; G. J. Wenham, “The Coherence of the Flood Narrative,” VT 28 (1978): 336-48.
[6:9] 2 tn The Hebrew term תָּמִים (tamim, “blameless”) is used of men in Gen 17:1 (associated with the idiom “walk before,” which means “maintain a proper relationship with,” see 24:40); Deut 18:13 (where it means “blameless” in the sense of not guilty of the idolatrous practices listed before this; see Josh 24:14); Pss 18:23, 26 (“blameless” in the sense of not having violated God’s commands); 37:18 (in contrast to the wicked); 101:2, 6 (in contrast to proud, deceitful slanderers; see 15:2); Prov 2:21; 11:5 (in contrast to the wicked); 28:10; Job 12:4.
[6:9] 3 tn Heb “Noah was a godly man, blameless in his generations.” The singular “generation” can refer to one’s contemporaries, i.e., those living at a particular point in time. The plural “generations” can refer to successive generations in the past or the future. Here, where it is qualified by “his” (i.e., Noah’s), it refers to Noah’s contemporaries, comprised of the preceding generation (his father’s generation), those of Noah’s generation, and the next generation (those the same age as his children). In other words, “his generations” means the generations contemporary with him. See BDB 190 s.v. דוֹר.
[6:9] 4 tn Heb “Noah.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[6:9] 5 tn The construction translated “walked with” is used in Gen 5:22, 24 (see the note on this phrase in 5:22) and in 1 Sam 25:15, where it refers to David’s and Nabal’s men “rubbing shoulders” in the fields. Based on the use in 1 Sam 25:15, the expression seems to mean “live in close proximity to,” which may, by metonymy, mean “maintain cordial relations with.”
[6:11] 7 tn Apart from Gen 6:11-12, the Niphal form of this verb occurs in Exod 8:20 HT (8:24 ET), where it describes the effect of the swarms of flies on the land of Egypt; Jer 13:7 and 18:4, where it is used of a “ruined” belt and “marred” clay pot, respectively; and Ezek 20:44, where it describes Judah’s morally “corrupt” actions. The sense “morally corrupt” fits well in Gen 6:11 because of the parallelism (note “the earth was filled with violence”). In this case “earth” would stand by metonymy for its sinful inhabitants. However, the translation “ruined” works just as well, if not better. In this case humankind’s sin is viewed has having an adverse effect upon the earth. Note that vv. 12b-13 make a distinction between the earth and the living creatures who live on it.
[6:11] 9 tn The Hebrew word translated “violence” refers elsewhere to a broad range of crimes, including unjust treatment (Gen 16:5; Amos 3:10), injurious legal testimony (Deut 19:16), deadly assault (Gen 49:5), murder (Judg 9:24), and rape (Jer 13:22).
[6:12] 10 tn Or “God saw how corrupt the earth was.”
[6:12] 11 tn The repetition in the text (see v. 11) emphasizes the point.
[6:12] 12 tn Heb “flesh.” Since moral corruption is in view here, most modern western interpreters understand the referent to be humankind. However, the phrase “all flesh” is used consistently of humankind and the animals in Gen 6-9 (6:17, 19; 7:15-16, 21; 8:17; 9:11, 15-17), suggesting that the author intends to picture all living creatures, humankind and animals, as guilty of moral failure. This would explain why the animals, not just humankind, are victims of the ensuing divine judgment. The OT sometimes views animals as morally culpable (Gen 9:5; Exod 21:28-29; Jonah 3:7-8). The OT also teaches that a person’s sin can contaminate others (people and animals) in the sinful person’s sphere (see the story of Achan, especially Josh 7:10). So the animals could be viewed here as morally contaminated because of their association with sinful humankind.
[6:12] 13 tn Heb “had corrupted its way.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “way” refers to the collective “all flesh.” The construction “corrupt one’s way” occurs only here (though Ezek 16:47 uses the Hiphil in an intransitive sense with the preposition בְּ [bet, “in”] followed by “ways”). The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) means “to ruin, to destroy, to corrupt,” often as here in a moral/ethical sense. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to behavior or moral character, a sense that it frequently carries (see BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a).
[6:13] 14 sn On the divine style utilized here, see R. Lapointe, “The Divine Monologue as a Channel of Revelation,” CBQ 32 (1970): 161-81.
[6:13] 15 tn Heb “the end of all flesh is coming [or “has come”] before me.” (The verb form is either a perfect or a participle.) The phrase “end of all flesh” occurs only here. The term “end” refers here to the end of “life,” as v. 3 and the following context (which describes how God destroys all flesh) make clear. The statement “the end has come” occurs in Ezek 7:2, 6, where it is used of divine judgment. The phrase “come before” occurs in Exod 28:30, 35; 34:34; Lev 15:14; Num 27:17; 1 Sam 18:13, 16; 2 Sam 19:8; 20:8; 1 Kgs 1:23, 28, 32; Ezek 46:9; Pss 79:11 (groans come before God); 88:3 (a prayer comes before God); 100:2; 119:170 (prayer comes before God); Lam 1:22 (evil doing comes before God); Esth 1:19; 8:1; 9:25; 1 Chr 16:29. The expression often means “have an audience with” or “appear before.” But when used metaphorically, it can mean “get the attention of” or “prompt a response.” This is probably the sense in Gen 6:13. The necessity of ending the life of all flesh on earth is an issue that has gotten the attention of God. The term “end” may even be a metonymy for that which has prompted it – violence (see the following clause).
[6:13] 16 tn The participle, especially after הִנֵּה (hinneh) has an imminent future nuance. The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) here has the sense “to destroy” (in judgment). Note the wordplay involving this verb in vv. 11-13: The earth is “ruined” because all flesh has acted in a morally “corrupt” manner. Consequently, God will “destroy” all flesh (the referent of the suffix “them”) along with the ruined earth. They had ruined themselves and the earth with violence, and now God would ruin them with judgment. For other cases where “earth” occurs as the object of the Hiphil of שָׁחָת, see 1 Sam 6:5; 1 Chr 20:1; Jer 36:29; 51:25.
[6:14] 17 sn The Hebrew verb is an imperative. A motif of this section is that Noah did as the
[6:14] 18 tn A transliteration of the Hebrew term yields “gopher (גֹּפֶר, gofer) wood” (so KJV, NAB, NASB). While the exact nature of the wood involved is uncertain (cf. NLT “resinous wood”), many modern translations render the Hebrew term as “cypress” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).
[6:14] 19 tn The Hebrew term כָּפָר (kafar, “to cover, to smear” [= to caulk]) appears here in the Qal stem with its primary, nonmetaphorical meaning. The Piel form כִּפֶּר (kipper), which has the metaphorical meaning “to atone, to expiate, to pacify,” is used in Levitical texts (see HALOT 493-94 s.v. כפר). Some authorities regard the form in v. 14 as a homonym of the much more common Levitical term (see BDB 498 s.v. כָּפָר).
[6:15] 20 tn Heb “300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about 18 inches (45 cm) long.
[6:16] 22 tn Heb “to a cubit you shall finish it from above.” The idea is that Noah was to leave an 18-inch opening from the top for a window for light.
[6:17] 23 tn The Hebrew construction uses the independent personal pronoun, followed by a suffixed form of הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) and the a participle used with an imminent future nuance: “As for me, look, I am going to bring.”
[6:17] 24 tn Heb “the flood, water.”
[6:17] 25 tn The verb שָׁחָת (shakhat, “to destroy”) is repeated yet again, only now in an infinitival form expressing the purpose of the flood.
[6:17] 26 tn The Hebrew construction here is different from the previous two; here it is רוּחַ חַיִּים (ruakh khayyim) rather than נֶפֶשׁ הַיָּה (nefesh khayyah) or נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים (nishmat khayyim). It refers to everything that breathes.
[6:18] 27 tn The Hebrew verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive (picking up the future sense from the participles) from קוּם (qum, “to rise up”). This may refer to the confirmation or fulfillment of an earlier promise, but it is more likely that it anticipates the unconditional promise made to humankind following the flood (see Gen 9:9, 11, 17).
[6:18] 28 tn The perfect verb form with vav (ו) consecutive is best understood as specific future, continuing God’s description of what will happen (see vv. 17-18a).
[6:19] 29 tn Heb “from all life, from all flesh, two from all you must bring.” The disjunctive clause at the beginning of the verse (note the conjunction with prepositional phrase, followed by two more prepositional phrases in apposition and then the imperfect verb form) signals a change in mood from announcement (vv. 17-18) to instruction.
[6:19] 30 tn The Piel infinitive construct לְהַחֲיוֹת (lÿhakhayot, here translated as “to keep them alive”) shows the purpose of bringing the animals into the ark – saving life. The Piel of this verb means here “to preserve alive.”
[6:20] 31 tn Heb “to keep alive.”
[6:21] 32 tn The verb is a direct imperative: “And you, take for yourself.” The form stresses the immediate nature of the instruction; the pronoun underscores the directness.
[6:21] 33 tn Heb “from all food,” meaning “some of every kind of food.”
[6:21] 34 tn Or “will be eaten.”
[6:21] 35 tn Heb “and gather it to you.”
[6:22] 36 tn Heb “according to all.”
[6:22] 37 tn The last clause seems redundant: “and thus (כֵּן, ken) he did.” It underscores the obedience of Noah to all that God had said.
[7:1] 38 tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.
[7:2] 39 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
[7:2] 40 sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.
[7:2] 41 tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.
[7:3] 42 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
[7:3] 43 tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).
[7:3] 44 tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”
[7:4] 45 tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”
[7:4] 46 tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.
[7:5] 47 tn Heb “according to all.”
[7:6] 48 tn Heb “Now Noah was.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate nominative after implied “to be” verb) provides background information. The age of Noah receives prominence.
[7:6] 49 tn Heb “and the flood was water upon.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial/temporal in relation to the preceding clause. The verb הָיָה (hayah) here carries the nuance “to come” (BDB 225 s.v. הָיָה). In this context the phrase “come upon” means “to engulf.”
[7:7] 50 tn The preposition מִן (min) is causal here, explaining why Noah and his family entered the ark.
[7:8] 51 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
[7:9] 52 tn The Hebrew text of vv. 8-9a reads, “From the clean animal[s] and from the animal[s] which are not clean and from the bird[s] and everything that creeps on the ground, two two they came to Noah to the ark, male and female.”
[7:9] 53 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:11] 55 tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 1:2).
[7:11] sn The watery deep. The same Hebrew term used to describe the watery deep in Gen 1:2 (תְּהוֹם, tihom) appears here. The text seems to picture here subterranean waters coming from under the earth and contributing to the rapid rise of water. The significance seems to be, among other things, that in this judgment God was returning the world to its earlier condition of being enveloped with water – a judgment involving the reversal of creation. On Gen 7:11 see G. F. Hasel, “The Fountains of the Great Deep,” Origins 1 (1974): 67-72; idem, “The Biblical View of the Extent of the Flood,” Origins 2 (1975): 77-95.
[7:11] 56 sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46.
[7:13] 58 tn Heb “On that very day Noah entered, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark.”
[7:14] 59 tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:14] 60 tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”
[7:15] 61 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”
[7:16] 63 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”
[7:18] 64 tn Heb “and the waters were great and multiplied exceedingly.” The first verb in the sequence is וַיִּגְבְּרוּ (vayyigbÿru, from גָּבַר, gavar), meaning “to become great, mighty.” The waters did not merely rise; they “prevailed” over the earth, overwhelming it.
[7:19] 66 tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.
[7:20] 68 tn Heb “rose fifteen cubits.” Since a cubit is considered by most authorities to be about eighteen inches, this would make the depth 22.5 feet. This figure might give the modern reader a false impression of exactness, however, so in the translation the phrase “fifteen cubits” has been rendered “more than twenty feet.”
[7:20] 69 tn Heb “the waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward and they covered the mountains.” Obviously, a flood of twenty feet did not cover the mountains; the statement must mean the flood rose about twenty feet above the highest mountain.
[7:22] 71 tn Heb “everything which [has] the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils from all which is in the dry land.”
[7:23] 72 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[7:23] 73 tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).
[7:23] 74 tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”
[7:23] 75 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁאָר (sha’ar) means “to be left over; to survive” in the Niphal verb stem. It is the word used in later biblical texts for the remnant that escapes judgment. See G. F. Hasel, “Semantic Values of Derivatives of the Hebrew Root só’r,” AUSS 11 (1973): 152-69.
[7:24] 76 sn The Hebrew verb translated “prevailed over” suggests that the waters were stronger than the earth. The earth and everything in it were no match for the return of the chaotic deep.
[8:1] 77 tn The Hebrew word translated “remembered” often carries the sense of acting in accordance with what is remembered, i.e., fulfilling covenant promises (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], especially p. 34).
[8:1] 78 tn Heb “to pass over.”
[8:2] 79 tn Some (e.g., NIV) translate the preterite verb forms in this verse as past perfects (e.g., “had been closed”), for it seems likely that the sources of the water would have stopped before the waters receded.
[8:3] 80 tn The construction combines a Qal preterite from שׁוּב (shuv) with its infinitive absolute to indicate continuous action. The infinitive absolute from הָלָךְ (halakh) is included for emphasis: “the waters returned…going and returning.”
[8:3] 81 tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:3] 82 tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.
[8:4] 83 tn Heb “on the mountains of Ararat.” Obviously a boat (even one as large as the ark) cannot rest on multiple mountains. Perhaps (1) the preposition should be translated “among,” or (2) the plural “mountains” should be understood in the sense of “mountain range” (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 53). A more probable option (3) is that the plural indicates an indefinite singular, translated “one of the mountains” (see GKC 400 §124.o).
[8:4] sn Ararat is the Hebrew name for Urartu, the name of a mountainous region located north of Mesopotamia in modern day eastern Turkey. See E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 29-32; G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:184-85; C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:443-44.
[8:5] 84 tn Heb “the waters were going and lessening.” The perfect verb form הָיָה (hayah) is used as an auxiliary verb with the infinitive absolute חָסוֹר (khasor, “lessening”), while the infinitive absolute הָלוֹךְ (halokh) indicates continuous action.
[8:5] 85 tn Or “could be seen.”
[8:6] 86 tn The introductory verbal form וַיְהִי (vayÿhi), traditionally rendered “and it came to pass,” serves as a temporal indicator and has not been translated here.
[8:6] 87 tn Heb “opened the window in the ark which he had made.” The perfect tense (“had made”) refers to action preceding the opening of the window, and is therefore rendered as a past perfect. Since in English “had made” could refer to either the ark or the window, the order of the phrases was reversed in the translation to clarify that the window is the referent.
[8:7] 88 tn Heb “and it went out, going out and returning.” The Hebrew verb יָצָא (yatsa’), translated here “flying,” is modified by two infinitives absolute indicating that the raven went back and forth.
[8:8] 89 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:8] 90 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
[8:8] 91 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
[8:9] 92 tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:9] 93 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 94 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 95 tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”
[8:11] 96 tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause.
[8:11] 97 tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to the olive leaf. It invites readers to enter into the story, as it were, and look at the olive leaf with their own eyes.
[8:12] 98 tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:12] 99 tn Heb “it did not again return to him still.” For a study of this section of the flood narrative, see W. O. E. Oesterley, “The Dove with the Olive Leaf (Gen VIII 8–11),” ExpTim 18 (1906/07): 377-78.
[8:13] 100 tn Heb In the six hundred and first year.” Since this refers to the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, the word “Noah’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[8:13] 101 tn Heb “and saw and look.” As in v. 11, the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites readers to enter into the story, as it were, and look at the dry ground with their own eyes.
[8:14] 102 tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, ha’adamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, ha’arets) is dry.
[8:17] 103 tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:17] 104 tn Following the Hiphil imperative, “bring out,” the three perfect verb forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry an imperatival nuance. For a discussion of the Hebrew construction here and the difficulty of translating it into English, see S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 124-25.
[8:17] 105 tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
[8:20] 106 sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the
[8:21] 107 tn The
[8:21] 108 tn Heb “and the
[8:21] 109 tn Heb “in his heart.”
[8:21] 110 tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.
[8:21] 111 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.
[8:21] 112 tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”
[8:21] 113 tn Heb “from his youth.”
[8:22] 114 tn Heb “yet all the days of the earth.” The idea is “[while there are] yet all the days of the earth,” meaning, “as long as the earth exists.”
[8:22] 115 tn Heb “seed,” which stands here by metonymy for the time when seed is planted.
[9:2] 116 tn Heb “and fear of you and dread of you will be upon every living creature of the earth and upon every bird of the sky.” The suffixes on the nouns “fear” and “dread” are objective genitives. The animals will fear humans from this time forward.
[9:2] 117 tn Heb “into your hand are given.” The “hand” signifies power. To say the animals have been given into the hands of humans means humans have been given authority over them.
[9:3] 118 tn Heb “every moving thing that lives for you will be for food.”
[9:3] 119 tn The words “I gave you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:3] 120 tn The perfect verb form describes the action that accompanies the declaration.
[9:4] 123 tn Heb “its life, its blood.” The second word is in apposition to the first, explaining what is meant by “its life.” Since the blood is equated with life, meat that had the blood in it was not to be eaten.
[9:4] 124 tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:4] sn You must not eat meat with its life…in it. Because of the carnage produced by the flood, people might conclude that life is cheap and therefore treat it lightly. But God will not permit them to kill or even to eat anything with the lifeblood still in it, serving as a reminder of the sanctity of life.
[9:5] 125 tn Again the text uses apposition to clarify what kind of blood is being discussed: “your blood, [that is] for your life.” See C. L. Dewar, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 4 (1953): 204-8.
[9:5] 126 tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The verb דָּרָשׁ (darash) means “to require, to seek, to ask for, to exact.” Here it means that God will exact punishment for the taking of a life. See R. Mawdsley, “Capital Punishment in Gen. 9:6,” CentBib 18 (1975): 20-25.
[9:5] 127 tn Heb “from the hand of,” which means “out of the hand of” or “out of the power of” and is nearly identical in sense to the preposition מִן (min) alone.
[9:5] 128 tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.
[9:5] 129 tn Heb “of the man.”
[9:5] 130 tn Heb “from the hand of a man, his brother.” The point is that God will require the blood of someone who kills, since the person killed is a relative (“brother”) of the killer. The language reflects Noah’s situation (after the flood everyone would be part of Noah’s extended family), but also supports the concept of the brotherhood of humankind. According to the Genesis account the entire human race descended from Noah.
[9:6] 131 tn Heb “the blood of man.”
[9:6] 132 tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.
[9:6] 133 sn See the notes on the words “humankind” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26, as well as J. Barr, “The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology,” BJRL 51 (1968/69): 11-26.
[9:6] 134 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:7] 135 sn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + pronominal subject + verb) here indicates a strong contrast to what has preceded. Against the backdrop of the warnings about taking life, God now instructs the people to produce life, using terms reminiscent of the mandate given to Adam (Gen 1:28).
[9:8] 136 tn Heb “to Noah and to his sons with him, saying.”
[9:9] 137 tn Heb “I, look, I confirm.” The particle הִנְנִי (hinni) used with the participle מֵקִים (meqim) gives the sense of immediacy or imminence, as if to say, “Look! I am now confirming.”
[9:9] 138 tn The three pronominal suffixes (translated “you,” “your,” and “you”) are masculine plural. As v. 8 indicates, Noah and his sons are addressed.
[9:10] 139 tn The verbal repetition is apparently for emphasis.
[9:11] 140 tn The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).
[9:11] 141 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:11] 143 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
[9:12] 145 sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.
[9:12] 146 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
[9:12] 147 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:12] 148 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
[9:13] 149 tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).
[9:13] 150 sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.
[9:13] 151 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.
[9:14] 152 tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.
[9:15] 153 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
[9:15] 154 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:15] 155 tn Heb “to destroy.”
[9:15] 156 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:16] 157 tn The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”
[9:17] 158 tn Heb “all flesh.”
[9:18] 159 sn The concluding disjunctive clause is parenthetical. It anticipates the following story, which explains that the Canaanites, Ham’s descendants through Canaan, were cursed because they shared the same moral abandonment that their ancestor displayed. See A. van Selms, “The Canaanites in the Book of Genesis,” OTS 12 (1958): 182-213.
[9:19] 160 tn Heb “was scattered.” The verb פָּצָה (patsah, “to scatter” [Niphal, “to be scattered”]) figures prominently in story of the dispersion of humankind in chap. 11.
[9:20] 161 sn The epithet a man of the soil indicates that Noah was a farmer.
[9:20] 162 tn Or “Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard”; Heb “and Noah, a man of the ground, began and he planted a vineyard.”
[9:21] 163 tn The Hebrew verb גָּלָה (galah) in the Hitpael verbal stem (וַיִּתְגַּל, vayyitggal) means “to uncover oneself” or “to be uncovered.” Noah became overheated because of the wine and uncovered himself in the tent.
[9:22] 164 sn For the second time (see v. 18) the text informs the reader of the relationship between Ham and Canaan. Genesis 10 will explain that Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes living in the promised land.
[9:22] 165 tn Some would translate “had sexual relations with,” arguing that Ham committed a homosexual act with his drunken father for which he was cursed. However, the expression “see nakedness” usually refers to observation of another’s nakedness, not a sexual act (see Gen 42:9, 12 where “nakedness” is used metaphorically to convey the idea of “weakness” or “vulnerability”; Deut 23:14 where “nakedness” refers to excrement; Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37; Lam 1:8). The following verse (v. 23) clearly indicates that visual observation, not a homosexual act, is in view here. In Lev 20:17 the expression “see nakedness” does appear to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but the context there, unlike that of Gen 9:22, clearly indicates that in that passage sexual contact is in view. The expression “see nakedness” does not in itself suggest a sexual connotation. Some relate Gen 9:22 to Lev 18:6-11, 15-19, where the expression “uncover [another’s] nakedness” (the Piel form of גָּלָה, galah) refers euphemistically to sexual intercourse. However, Gen 9:22 does not say Ham “uncovered” the nakedness of his father. According to the text, Noah uncovered himself; Ham merely saw his father naked. The point of the text is that Ham had no respect for his father. Rather than covering his father up, he told his brothers. Noah then gave an oracle that Ham’s descendants, who would be characterized by the same moral abandonment, would be cursed. Leviticus 18 describes that greater evil of the Canaanites (see vv. 24-28).
[9:22] sn Saw the nakedness. It is hard for modern people to appreciate why seeing another’s nakedness was such an abomination, because nakedness is so prevalent today. In the ancient world, especially in a patriarchal society, seeing another’s nakedness was a major offense. (See the account in Herodotus, Histories 1.8-13, where a general saw the nakedness of his master’s wife, and one of the two had to be put to death.) Besides, Ham was not a little boy wandering into his father’s bedroom; he was over a hundred years old by this time. For fuller discussion see A. P. Ross, “The Curse of Canaan,” BSac 137 (1980): 223-40.
[9:23] 166 tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?
[9:23] 167 tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”
[9:24] 168 tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.
[9:24] 170 tn The Hebrew verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) carries too general a sense to draw the conclusion that Ham had to have done more than look on his father’s nakedness and tell his brothers.
[9:25] 171 sn For more on the curse, see H. C. Brichto, The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible (JBLMS), and J. Scharbert, TDOT 1:405-18.
[9:25] 172 sn Cursed be Canaan. The curse is pronounced on Canaan, not Ham. Noah sees a problem in Ham’s character, and on the basis of that he delivers a prophecy about the future descendants who will live in slavery to such things and then be controlled by others. (For more on the idea of slavery in general, see E. M. Yamauchi, “Slaves of God,” BETS 9 [1966]: 31-49). In a similar way Jacob pronounced oracles about his sons based on their revealed character (see Gen 49).
[9:25] 173 tn Heb “a servant of servants” (עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים, ’eved ’avadim), an example of the superlative genitive. It means Canaan will become the most abject of slaves.
[9:26] 174 tn Heb “blessed be.”
[9:26] 175 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Shem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] 176 tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] sn There is a wordplay (paronomasia) on the name Japheth. The verb יַפְתְּ (yaft, “may he enlarge”) sounds like the name יֶפֶת (yefet, “Japheth”). The name itself suggested the idea. The blessing for Japheth extends beyond the son to the descendants. Their numbers and their territories will be enlarged, so much so that they will share in Shem’s territories. Again, in this oracle, Noah is looking beyond his immediate family to future generations. For a helpful study of this passage and the next chapter, see T. O. Figart, A Biblical Perspective on the Race Problem, 55-58.
[9:27] 177 tn In this context the prefixed verbal form is a jussive (note the distinct jussive forms both before and after this in vv. 26 and 27).
[10:1] 178 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (’elle tolÿdot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1–11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.
[10:1] 179 sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.
[10:1] 180 tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bÿne) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.
[10:2] 181 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
[10:2] 182 sn Gomer was the ancestor of the Cimmerians. For a discussion of the Cimmerians see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 49-61.
[10:2] 183 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
[10:2] 184 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
[10:2] 185 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
[10:2] 186 sn Tubal was the ancestor of militaristic tribes that lived north of the Black Sea. For a discussion of ancient references to Tubal see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
[10:2] 187 sn Meshech was the ancestor of the people known in Assyrian records as the Musku. For a discussion of ancient references to them see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
[10:2] 188 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
[10:3] 189 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
[10:3] 190 sn Askenaz was the ancestor of a northern branch of Indo-Germanic tribes, possibly Scythians. For discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 63.
[10:3] 191 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
[10:3] 192 sn Togarmah is also mentioned in Ezek 38:6, where it refers to Til-garimmu, the capital of Kammanu, which bordered Tabal in eastern Turkey. See E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 26, n. 28.
[10:4] 193 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
[10:4] 194 sn The descendants of Tarshish settled along the southern coast of what is modern Turkey. However, some identify the site Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3) with Sardinia or Spain.
[10:4] 195 sn The name Kittim is associated with Cyprus, as well as coastlands east of Rhodes. It is used in later texts to refer to the Romans.
[10:4] 196 tc Most of the MT
[10:6] 197 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
[10:6] 198 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
[10:6] 199 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
[10:6] 200 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
[10:7] 201 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
[10:7] 202 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
[10:7] 203 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
[10:7] 204 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 205 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
[10:7] 206 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 207 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
[10:8] 208 tn Heb “fathered.” Embedded within Cush’s genealogy is an account of Nimrod, a mighty warrior. There have been many attempts to identify him, but none are convincing.
[10:9] 209 tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).
[10:9] 210 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
[10:10] 211 tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.
[10:10] 213 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
[10:10] 214 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
[10:10] 215 tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).
[10:10] 216 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
[10:11] 217 tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.
[10:11] 219 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
[10:11] 220 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
[10:11] 221 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
[10:12] 222 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
[10:13] 223 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
[10:13] 224 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:13] 225 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
[10:13] 226 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
[10:13] 227 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
[10:13] 228 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
[10:14] 229 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
[10:14] 230 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
[10:14] 231 tn Several commentators prefer to reverse the order of the words to put this clause after the next word, since the Philistines came from Crete (where the Caphtorites lived). But the table may suggest migration rather than lineage, and the Philistines, like the Israelites, came through the Nile Delta region of Egypt. For further discussion of the origin and migration of the Philistines, see D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 232.
[10:14] 232 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
[10:15] 233 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:15] 234 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
[10:15] 235 tn Some see a reference to “Hittites” here (cf. NIV), but this seems unlikely. See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
[10:16] 236 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
[10:16] 237 sn Here Amorites refers to smaller groups of Canaanite inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Palestine, rather than the large waves of Amurru, or western Semites, who migrated to the region.
[10:16] 238 sn The Girgashites are an otherwise unknown Canaanite tribe, though the name is possibly mentioned in Ugaritic texts (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 1:226).
[10:17] 239 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
[10:17] 240 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
[10:17] 241 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
[10:18] 242 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
[10:18] 243 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
[10:18] 244 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
[10:19] 246 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[10:19] 247 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:19] 248 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:21] 249 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
[10:21] 250 tn Or “whose older brother was Japheth.” Some translations render Japheth as the older brother, understanding the adjective הַגָּדוֹל (haggadol, “older”) as modifying Japheth. However, in Hebrew when a masculine singular definite attributive adjective follows the sequence masculine singular construct noun + proper name, the adjective invariably modifies the noun in construct, not the proper name. Such is the case here. See Deut 11:7; Judg 1:13; 2:7; 3:9; 9:5; 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 27:3; Neh 3:30; Jer 13:9; 36:10; Ezek 10:19; 11:1.
[10:22] 251 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
[10:22] 252 sn Asshur is the name for the Assyrians. Asshur was the region in which Nimrod expanded his power (see v. 11, where the name is also mentioned). When names appear in both sections of a genealogical list, it probably means that there were both Hamites and Shemites living in that region in antiquity, especially if the name is a place name.
[10:22] 253 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
[10:22] 254 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
[10:22] 255 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
[10:23] 256 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
[10:23] sn Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Little is known about these descendants of Aram.
[10:24] 257 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:24] 258 tc The MT reads “Arphaxad fathered Shelah”; the LXX reads “Arphaxad fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered Sala [= Shelah].” The LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
[10:24] 259 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
[10:25] 260 tn The expression “the earth was divided” may refer to dividing the land with canals, but more likely it anticipates the division of languages at Babel (Gen 11). The verb פָּלָג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.
[10:26] 261 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:26] 262 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
[10:26] 263 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
[10:26] 264 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
[10:26] 265 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
[10:27] 266 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
[10:27] 267 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
[10:28] 268 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
[10:28] 269 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
[10:28] 270 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
[10:29] 271 sn Ophir became the name of a territory in South Arabia. Many of the references to Ophir are connected with gold (e.g., 1 Kgs 9:28, 10:11, 22:48; 1 Chr 29:4; 2 Chr 8:18, 9:10; Job 22:24, 28:16; Ps 45:9; Isa 13:12).
[10:29] 272 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
[10:30] 273 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:32] 274 tn Or “separated.”
[11:1] 275 sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9,” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.
[11:1] 276 tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.
[11:2] 277 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:2] 278 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
[11:2] 279 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
[11:2] sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.
[11:3] 280 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
[11:3] 281 tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbbÿnah lÿvenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrÿfah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).
[11:3] 282 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
[11:3] 283 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
[11:4] 284 tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.
[11:4] 285 tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.
[11:4] 286 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
[11:4] 287 sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.
[11:5] 288 tn Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city.
[11:5] 289 tn The Hebrew text simply has בָּנוּ (banu), but since v. 8 says they left off building the city, an ingressive idea (“had started building”) should be understood here.
[11:6] 290 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
[11:6] 291 tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”
[11:6] 292 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
[11:7] 293 tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the
[11:7] 294 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
[11:8] 295 tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.
[11:9] 296 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
[11:9] 297 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
[11:11] 298 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 299 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:13] 300 tc The reading of the MT is followed in vv. 11-12; the LXX reads, “And [= when] Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan, Arphaxad lived four hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died. And [= when] Cainan had lived one hundred and thirty years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah]. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah], Cainan lived three hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died.” See also the note on “Shelah” in Gen 10:24; the LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
[11:15] 301 tn Here and in vv. 16, 19, 21, 23, 25 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:28] 302 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
[11:28] 303 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
[11:29] 304 sn The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia.
[11:29] 305 sn The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. If the women were named after such titles (and there is no evidence that this was the motivation for naming the girls “Princess” or “Queen”), that would not necessarily imply anything about the faith of the two women themselves.
[11:32] 306 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
[11:32] 307 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
