Genesis 6:9

The Judgment of the Flood

6:9 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.

Genesis 17:7

17:7 I will confirm ⁶  my covenant as a perpetual ⁷  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ 

Genesis 21:16

21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot ⁹  away; for she thought, ¹⁰  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ¹¹  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ¹² 

Genesis 38:9

38:9 But Onan knew that the child ¹³  would not be considered his. ¹⁴  So whenever ¹⁵  he had sexual relations with ¹⁶  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ¹⁷  so as not to give his brother a descendant.

Genesis 38:16

38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” ¹⁸  (He did not realize ¹⁹  it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” ²⁰ 

Genesis 49:11

49:11 Binding his foal to the vine,

and his colt to the choicest vine,

he will wash ²¹  his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes.

[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.”

[17:7]  ⁶ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

[17:7]  ⁷ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[21:16]  ⁹ sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).

[21:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “said.”

[21:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.

[21:16]  ¹² tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.

[38:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “offspring.”

[38:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.

[38:9]  ¹⁵ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

[38:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.

[38:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for he did not know that.”

[38:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[49:11]  ²¹ tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, describing coming events as though they have already taken place.