1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation.#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. 2 You must take with you seven#tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV). of every kind of clean animal,#sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643. the male and its mate,#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. two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 3 and also seven#tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV). of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female,#tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah). to preserve their offspring#tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.” on the face of the earth. 4 For in seven days#tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.” I will cause it to rain#tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future. 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.”

5 And Noah did all#tn Heb “according to all.” that the Lord commanded him.

6 Noah#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. was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed#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.” the earth. 7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because#tn The preposition מִן (min) is causal here, explaining why Noah and his family entered the ark. of the floodwaters. 8 Pairs#tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.” of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground, 9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah,#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.” just as God had commanded him.#tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons. 10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth.#tn Heb “came upon.”

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#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).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. burst open and the floodgates of the heavens#sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46. were opened. 12 And the rain fell#tn Heb “was.” on the earth forty days and forty nights.

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.#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.” 14 They entered,#tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. 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.#tn Heb “every bird, every wing.” 15 Pairs#tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.” of all creatures#tn Heb “flesh.” that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 16 Those that entered were male and female,#tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.” just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

17 The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 18 The waters completely overwhelmed#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. the earth, and the ark floated#tn Heb “went.” on the surface of the waters. 19 The waters completely inundated#tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters. the earth so that even#tn Heb “and.” all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 20 The waters rose more than twenty feet#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.” above the mountains.#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. 21 And all living things#tn Heb “flesh.” that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life#tn Heb “everything which [has] the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils from all which is in the dry land.” in its nostrils died. 23 So the Lord#tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity. destroyed#tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”). 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.#tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.” They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.#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. 24 The waters prevailed over#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. the earth for 150 days.

1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC

Learn More

Bereshis 7

1And Hashem said unto Noach, Come thou and all thy bais into the tevah (ark); for thee have I found tzaddik before Me in dor hazeh.

2Of every behemah hatehorah thou shalt take to thee by sevens; the male and his mate; and of behemah that are not tehorah by two, the male and his mate.

3Of also Oph HaShomayim by sevens, the zachar and the nekevah; to keep zera alive upon the face of kol ha'aretz.

4For shivah yamim from now, and I will cause it to rain upon ha'aretz arba'im yom and arba'im lailah; and every living creature that I have made will I wipe out from off the p'nei ha'adamah. 5And Noach did according unto all that Hashem commanded him.

6And Noach was shesh me'ot shanah when the mabbul waters were upon ha'aretz.

7And Noach entered in, and his banim, and his isha, and nashim of his banim with him, into the tevah (ark), because of the waters of the mabbul.

8Of behemah hatehorah, and of behemah that are not tehorah, and of haoph, and of every thing that creepeth upon ha'adamah,

9There went in shnayim shnayim unto Noach into the tevah (ark), the zachar and the nekevah, as Elohim had commanded Noach.

10And it came to pass after shivat hayamim, that the waters of the mabbul were upon ha'aretz.

11In the six hundredth year of Noachʼs life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of Shomayim were opened.

12And the geshem was upon ha'aretz arba'im yom and arba'im lailah.

13On that very yom entered Noach, and Shem, and Cham, and Yephet, the bnei Noach, and Noachʼs isha, and the three nashim of his banim with them, into the tevah (ark);

14They, and every beast after its kind, and kol habehemah after their kind, and every remes that crawls upon ha'aretz after its kind, and kol haoph after its kind, every bird of every sort.

15And they went in unto Noach into the tevah (ark), shnayim shnayim of kol habasar, wherein is the ruach chayyim.

16And they that went in, went in zachar and nekevah of kol basar, as Elohim had commanded him; then Hashem shut him in.

17And the mabbul was arba'im yom upon ha'aretz; and the waters increased, and lifted up the tevah (ark), and it rose above ha'aretz.

18And the waters rose, and were increased greatly upon ha'aretz; and the tevah (ark) floated upon the face of the waters.

19And the waters rose exceedingly upon ha'aretz; and all the high hills, that were under kol HaShomayim, were covered.

20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters rise; and the harim were covered.

21And kol basar perished that moved upon ha'aretz, both of Oph, and of Behemah, and of Beast, and of every Swarming Thing that swarms upon ha'aretz, and kol haadam;

22All in whose nostrils was the ruach chayyim, of all that was in the dry land, perished.

23And every living creature was wiped out which was upon the p'nei haadamah, both Adam, and Behemah, and the Remes, and the Oph HaShomayim; and they were wiped out from ha'aretz: and Noach only remained alive, and they that were with him in the tevah (ark).

24And the waters flooded upon ha'aretz a hundred and fifty days.

THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE

Learn More

Choose your language

Genesis 7

Bereshis 7