Genesis 8
8
1 But God remembered#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). Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over#tn Heb “to pass over.” the earth and the waters receded. 2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed,#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. and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 3 The waters kept receding steadily#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.” from the earth, so that they#tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons. had gone down#tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action. by the end of the 150 days. 4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat.#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).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. 5 The waters kept on receding#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. until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible.#tn Or “could be seen.”
6 At the end of forty days,#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. Noah opened the window he had made in the ark#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. 7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying#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. back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.
8 Then Noah#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity. sent out a dove#tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English. to see if the waters had receded#tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding. from the surface of the ground. 9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered#tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah#tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity. in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove,#tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity. and brought it back into the ark.#tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.” 10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 11 When#tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause. the dove returned to him in the evening, there was#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. a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 12 He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again,#tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. but it did not return to him this time.#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.
13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year,#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. 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#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. the surface of the ground was dry. 14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth#tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, ha’adamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, ha’arets) is dry. was dry.
15 Then God spoke to Noah and said, 16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you. Bring out#tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase#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. and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!”#tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
18 Noah went out along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.
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.#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 Lord. After the flood Noah could see that God was not only a God of wrath, but a God of redemption and restoration. The one who escaped the catastrophe could best express his gratitude and submission through sacrificial worship, acknowledging God as the sovereign of the universe. 21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma#tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיהֹחַ, reakh hannihoakh). The object forms a cognate accusative with the verb. The language is anthropomorphic. The offering had a sweet aroma that pleased or soothed. The expression in Lev 1 signifies that God accepts the offering with pleasure, and in accepting the offering he accepts the worshiper. and said#tn Heb “and the Lord said.” to himself,#tn Heb “in his heart.” “I will never again curse#tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem. the ground because of humankind, even though#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. the inclination of their minds#tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.” is evil from childhood on.#tn Heb “from his youth.” I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.
22 “While the earth continues to exist,#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.”
planting time#tn Heb “seed,” which stands here by metonymy for the time when seed is planted. and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
and day and night will not cease.”
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Genesis 8: NET
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Genesis 8
8
CHAPTER 8
1Forsooth the Lord had mind of Noah, and of all living beasts, and of all work beasts, that were with him in the ship; and [he] brought a wind on the earth. And [the] waters were decreased, or assuaged,
2and the wells of the sea were closed, and the windows of heaven were closed, and rains of heaven were ceased.
3And [the] waters turned again from off the earth, and went again, and began to be decreased, or assuaged, after an hundred and fifty days.
4And the ship rested in the seventh month, in the seven and twentieth day of the month, on the hills [or mounts] of Armenia.
5And soothly the waters went and decreased till to the tenth month, for in the tenth month, in the first day of the month, the tops of [the] hills appeared.
6And when forty days had passed, Noah opened the window of the ship which he had made,
7and sent out a crow, which went out, and turned not again till the waters were dried on [the] earth.
8Also Noah sent out a culver after him, to see if the waters had ceased then on the face of the earth;
9and when the culver found not where her foot should rest, she turned again to him into the ship, for the waters were on all [the] earth; and Noah held forth his hand, and brought the culver taken into the ship.
10Soothly when other seven days were abided afterward, again he sent out a culver from the ship;
11and she came to him at eventide, and bare in her mouth a branch of an olive tree with green leaves. There-fore Noah understood that the waters had ceased or abated on earth;
12and nevertheless he abode seven other days, and sent out a culver, which turned not again to him.
13Therefore in the six hundred and one year of the life of Noah, in the first month, in the first day of the month, [the] waters were decreased on earth; and Noah opened the roof of the ship, and beheld, and saw that the face of the earth was dried.
14In the second month, in the seven and twentieth day of the month, the earth was made dry.
15Soothly the Lord spake to Noah; and said,
16Go out of the ship, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and the wives of thy sons with thee;
17and lead out with thee all living beasts that be with thee of each flesh, as well in volatiles, as in unreason-able beasts, and all reptiles or all creeping beasts that creep on [the] earth; and enter ye on the earth, increase ye, and be ye multiplied on earth.
18Therefore Noah went out, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him;
19but also all living beasts, and work beasts, and birds, and reptiles that creep on [the] earth, by their kind, went out of the ship.
20Forsooth Noah builded an altar to the Lord, and he took of all clean beasts and birds, and offered burnt sacrifices on the altar.
21And the Lord savoured the odour of sweetness, and said to him, I shall no more curse the earth for men, for the wit and thought of man’s heart be ready, either prone, into evil from young waxing age; therefore I shall no more smite each living soul, as I did;
22in all the days of [the] earth, seed and ripe corn, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not rest.
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