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But God remembered[a] Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over[b] the earth and the waters receded. The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed,[c] and the rain stopped falling from the sky. The waters kept receding steadily[d] from the earth, so that they[e] had gone down[f] by the end of the 150 days. On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat.[g] The waters kept on receding[h] until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible.[i]

At the end of forty days,[j] Noah opened the window he had made in the ark[k] and sent out a raven; it kept flying back and forth[l] until the waters had dried up on the earth.

Then Noah[m] sent out a dove[n] to see if the waters had receded[o] from the surface of the ground. The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered[p] the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah[q] in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove,[r] and brought it back into the ark.[s] 10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 11 When[t] the dove returned to him in the evening, there was[u] 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,[v] but it did not return to him this time.[w]

13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year,[x] 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[y] the surface of the ground was dry. 14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth[z] 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[aa] every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase[ab] and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!”[ac]

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.[ad] 21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma[ae] and said[af] to himself,[ag] “I will never again curse[ah] the ground because of humankind, even though[ai] the inclination of their minds[aj] is evil from childhood on.[ak] I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

22 “While the earth continues to exist,[al]
planting time[am] and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
and day and night will not cease.”

God’s Covenant with Humankind through Noah

Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you.[an] Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority.[ao] You may eat any moving thing that lives.[ap] As I gave you[aq] the green plants, I now give[ar] you everything.

“But[as] you must not eat meat[at] with its life (that is,[au] its blood) in it.[av] For your lifeblood[aw] I will surely exact punishment,[ax] from[ay] every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person[az] I will exact punishment for the life of the individual[ba] since the man was his relative.[bb]

“Whoever sheds human blood,[bc]
by other humans[bd]
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image[be]
God[bf] has made humankind.

“But as for you,[bg] be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”

God said to Noah and his sons,[bh] “Look. I now confirm[bi] my covenant with you and your descendants after you[bj] 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.[bk] 11 I confirm[bl] my covenant with you: Never again will all living things[bm] be wiped out[bn] by the waters of a flood;[bo] never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

12 And God said, “This is the guarantee[bp] of the covenant I am making[bq] with you[br] and every living creature with you, a covenant[bs] for all subsequent[bt] generations: 13 I will place[bu] my rainbow[bv] in the clouds, and it will become[bw] a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever[bx] I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 then I will remember my covenant with you[by] and with all living creatures of all kinds.[bz] Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy[ca] all living things.[cb] 16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember[cc] the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”

17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things[cd] that are on the earth.”

The Curse on Canaan

18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Now Ham was the father of Canaan.)[ce] 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.[cf]

20 Noah, a man of the soil,[cg] began to plant a vineyard.[ch] 21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself[ci] inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan,[cj] saw his father’s nakedness[ck] and told his two brothers who were outside. 23 Shem and Japheth took the garment[cl] and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way[cm] so they did not see their father’s nakedness.

24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor[cn] he learned[co] what his youngest son had done[cp] to him. 25 So he said,

“Cursed[cq] be Canaan![cr]
The lowest of slaves[cs]
he will be to his brothers.”

26 He also said,

“Worthy of praise is[ct] the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem![cu]
27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers![cv]
May he[cw] live[cx] in the tents of Shem
and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth!”[cy]

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 The entire lifetime of Noah was 950 years, and then he died.

The Table of Nations

10 This is the account[cz] of Noah’s sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.[da] Sons[db] were born[dc] to them after the flood.

The sons of Japheth[dd] were Gomer,[de] Magog,[df] Madai,[dg] Javan,[dh] Tubal,[di] Meshech,[dj] and Tiras.[dk] The sons of Gomer were[dl] Ashkenaz,[dm] Riphath,[dn] and Togarmah.[do] The sons of Javan were Elishah,[dp] Tarshish,[dq] the Kittim,[dr] and the Dodanim.[ds] 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.

The sons of Ham were Cush,[dt] Mizraim,[du] Put,[dv] and Canaan.[dw] The sons of Cush were Seba,[dx] Havilah,[dy] Sabtah,[dz] Raamah,[ea] and Sabteca.[eb] The sons of Raamah were Sheba[ec] and Dedan.[ed]

Cush was the father of[ee] Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter[ef] before the Lord.[eg] (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10 The primary regions[eh] of his kingdom were Babel,[ei] Erech,[ej] Akkad,[ek] and Calneh[el] in the land of Shinar.[em] 11 From that land he went[en] to Assyria,[eo] where he built Nineveh,[ep] Rehoboth Ir,[eq] Calah,[er] 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah.[es]

13 Mizraim[et] was the father of[eu] the Ludites,[ev] Anamites,[ew] Lehabites,[ex] Naphtuhites,[ey] 14 Pathrusites,[ez] Casluhites[fa] (from whom the Philistines came),[fb] and Caphtorites.[fc]

15 Canaan was the father of[fd] Sidon his firstborn,[fe] Heth,[ff] 16 the Jebusites,[fg] Amorites,[fh] Girgashites,[fi] 17 Hivites,[fj] Arkites,[fk] Sinites,[fl] 18 Arvadites,[fm] Zemarites,[fn] and Hamathites.[fo] Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan extended[fp] from Sidon all the way to[fq] Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to[fr] Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.

21 And sons were also born[fs] to Shem (the older brother of Japheth),[ft] the father of all the sons of Eber.

22 The sons of Shem were Elam,[fu] Asshur,[fv] Arphaxad,[fw] Lud,[fx] and Aram.[fy] 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.[fz] 24 Arphaxad was the father of[ga] Shelah,[gb] and Shelah was the father of Eber.[gc] 25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided,[gd] and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan was the father of[ge] Almodad,[gf] Sheleph,[gg] Hazarmaveth,[gh] Jerah,[gi] 27 Hadoram, Uzal,[gj] Diklah,[gk] 28 Obal,[gl] Abimael,[gm] Sheba,[gn] 29 Ophir,[go] Havilah,[gp] and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to[gq] Sephar in the eastern hills. 31 These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread[gr] over the earth after the flood.

The Dispersion of the Nations at Babel

11 The whole earth[gs] had a common language and a common vocabulary.[gt] When the people[gu] moved eastward,[gv] they found a plain in Shinar[gw] and settled there. Then they said to one another,[gx] “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”[gy] (They had brick instead of stone and tar[gz] instead of mortar.)[ha] Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens[hb] so that[hc] we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise[hd] we will be scattered[he] across the face of the entire earth.”

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people[hf] had started[hg] building. And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language[hh] they have begun to do this, then[hi] nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.[hj] Come, let’s go down and confuse[hk] their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.”[hl]

So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building[hm] the city. That is why its name was called[hn] Babel[ho]—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.

The Genealogy of Shem

10 This is the account of Shem.

Shem was 100 years old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11 And after becoming the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other[hp] sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other[hq] sons and daughters.[hr]

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The Record of Terah

27 This is the account of Terah.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans,[hs] while his father Terah was still alive.[ht] 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai.[hu] And the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah;[hv] she was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no children.

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. 32 The lifetime[hw] of Terah was 205 years, and he[hx] died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 8:1 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).
  2. Genesis 8:1 tn Heb “to pass over.”
  3. Genesis 8:2 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.
  4. Genesis 8:3 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.”
  5. Genesis 8:3 tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  6. Genesis 8:3 tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.
  7. Genesis 8:4 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.
  8. Genesis 8:5 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.
  9. Genesis 8:5 tn Or “could be seen.”
  10. Genesis 8:6 tn The introductory verbal form וַיְהִי (vayehi), traditionally rendered “and it came to pass,” serves as a temporal indicator and has not been translated here.
  11. Genesis 8:6 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.
  12. Genesis 8:7 tn Heb “and it went out, going out and returning.” The Hebrew verb יָצָא (yatsaʾ), translated here “flying,” is modified by two infinitives absolute indicating that the raven went back and forth.
  13. Genesis 8:8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. Genesis 8:8 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
  15. Genesis 8:8 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
  16. Genesis 8:9 tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  17. Genesis 8:9 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Genesis 8:9 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  19. Genesis 8:9 tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”
  20. Genesis 8:11 tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause.
  21. Genesis 8:11 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.
  22. Genesis 8:12 tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  23. Genesis 8:12 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.
  24. Genesis 8:13 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.
  25. Genesis 8:13 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.
  26. Genesis 8:14 tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, haʾadamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, haʾarets) is dry.
  27. Genesis 8:17 tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  28. Genesis 8:17 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.
  29. Genesis 8:17 tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
  30. Genesis 8:20 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.
  31. Genesis 8:21 tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיחֹחַ, reakh hannikhoakh). 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.
  32. Genesis 8:21 tn Heb “and the Lord said.”
  33. Genesis 8:21 tn Heb “in his heart.”
  34. Genesis 8:21 tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.
  35. Genesis 8:21 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.
  36. Genesis 8:21 tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”
  37. Genesis 8:21 tn Heb “from his youth.”
  38. Genesis 8:22 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.”
  39. Genesis 8:22 tn Heb “seed,” which stands here by metonymy for the time when seed is planted.
  40. Genesis 9:2 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.
  41. Genesis 9:2 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.
  42. Genesis 9:3 tn Heb “every moving thing that lives for you will be for food.”
  43. Genesis 9:3 tn The words “I gave you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  44. Genesis 9:3 tn The perfect verb form describes the action that accompanies the declaration.
  45. Genesis 9:4 tn Heb “only.”
  46. Genesis 9:4 tn Or “flesh.”
  47. Genesis 9:4 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.
  48. Genesis 9:4 tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.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.
  49. Genesis 9:5 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.
  50. Genesis 9:5 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.
  51. Genesis 9:5 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.
  52. Genesis 9:5 tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.
  53. Genesis 9:5 tn Heb “of the man.”
  54. Genesis 9:5 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.
  55. Genesis 9:6 tn Heb “the blood of man.”
  56. Genesis 9:6 tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.
  57. Genesis 9:6 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.
  58. Genesis 9:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  59. Genesis 9:7 sn The disjunctive clause (vav plus subject plus 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).
  60. Genesis 9:8 tn Heb “to Noah and to his sons with him, saying.”
  61. Genesis 9:9 tn Heb “I, look, I confirm.” The particle הִנְנִי (hineni) used with the participle מֵקִים (meqim) gives the sense of immediacy or imminence, as if to say, “Look! I am now confirming.”
  62. Genesis 9:9 tn The three pronominal suffixes (translated “you,” “your,” and “you”) are masculine plural. As v. 8 indicates, Noah and his sons are addressed.
  63. Genesis 9:10 tn The verbal repetition is apparently for emphasis.
  64. Genesis 9:11 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”).
  65. Genesis 9:11 tn Heb “all flesh.”
  66. Genesis 9:11 tn Heb “cut off.”
  67. Genesis 9:11 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
  68. Genesis 9:12 tn Heb “sign.”
  69. Genesis 9:12 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.
  70. Genesis 9:12 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
  71. Genesis 9:12 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  72. Genesis 9:12 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (ʿolam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
  73. Genesis 9:13 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).
  74. Genesis 9:13 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.
  75. Genesis 9:13 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.
  76. Genesis 9:14 tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vehayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.
  77. Genesis 9:15 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
  78. Genesis 9:15 tn Heb “all flesh.”
  79. Genesis 9:15 tn Heb “to destroy.”
  80. Genesis 9:15 tn Heb “all flesh.”
  81. Genesis 9:16 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.”
  82. Genesis 9:17 tn Heb “all flesh.”
  83. Genesis 9:18 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.
  84. Genesis 9:19 tn Heb “was scattered.” The rare verb נָפַץ (nafats, “to scatter”) appears to be a bi-form of the more common verb פּוּץ (puts, “to scatter”) which figures prominently in the story of the dispersion of humankind in chap. 11. And the form here, נָפְצָה (nafetsah), could be repointed as נָפוֹצָה (nafotsah), the Niphal of פּוּץ.
  85. Genesis 9:20 sn The epithet a man of the soil indicates that Noah was a farmer.
  86. Genesis 9:20 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.”
  87. Genesis 9:21 tn The Hebrew verb גָּלָה (galah) in the Hitpael verbal stem (וַיִּתְגַּל, vayyitgal) means “to uncover oneself” or “to be uncovered.” Noah became overheated because of the wine and uncovered himself in the tent.
  88. Genesis 9:22 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.
  89. Genesis 9:22 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).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.
  90. Genesis 9:23 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?
  91. Genesis 9:23 tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”
  92. Genesis 9:24 tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.
  93. Genesis 9:24 tn Heb “he knew.”
  94. Genesis 9:24 tn The Hebrew verb עָשָׂה (ʿasah, “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.
  95. Genesis 9:25 sn For more on the curse, see H. C. Brichto, The Problem ofCursein the Hebrew Bible (JBLMS), and J. Scharbert, TDOT 1:405-18.
  96. Genesis 9:25 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). Wenham points out that “Ham’s indiscretion towards his father may easily be seen as a type of the later behavior of the Egyptians and Canaanites. Noah’s curse on Canaan thus represents God’s sentence on the sins of the Canaanites, which their forefather Ham had exemplified.” He points out that the Canaanites are seen as sexually aberrant and Lev 18:3 describes Egypt and Canaan, both descendants of Ham, as having abominable practices. See G. Wenham, Genesis vol. 1 (WBC), 202.
  97. Genesis 9:25 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.
  98. Genesis 9:26 tn Heb “blessed be.”
  99. Genesis 9:26 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Shem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  100. Genesis 9:27 tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.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.
  101. Genesis 9:27 sn There is some debate over whether God or Japheth is the subject. On the one hand, the brothers acted together and the refrain ending vv. 26 and 27 is the same, which suggests that v. 26 is about Shem and v. 27 is about Japheth. But it is not clear what it would mean for Japheth to live in Shem’s tents. A similar phrase occurs in Ps 78:55 where it means for Israel to occupy Canaan, but there is no reason in this context to expect Japheth to be blessed at the expense of Shem and occupy his territory. If this applies to Japheth, it would make more sense for it to mean that Japheth would participate in the blessings of Shem, but that is not clear for this phrase. On the other hand it is typical to keep the same subject if a new one is not explicitly introduced, suggesting that God is the subject here (see W. Kaiser, The Messiah in the Old Testament, 44-46). In addition, the phrase שָׁכַן בּ (shakhan b…, “to dwell in/among” is often used of the Lord dwelling among Israel, in Zion, making his name dwell there, or the Tabernacle dwelling among them. Referring to the “tents” (plural) of Shem looks ahead to tents of his descendants, not to the Tabernacle, though the Tabernacle being in the middle of the camp would seem to be a realization of the statement, as would Jesus’ presence among Israel.
  102. Genesis 9:27 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).
  103. Genesis 9:27 tn Heb “a slave to him”; the referent (Japheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  104. Genesis 10:1 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (ʾelleh toledot, 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.
  105. Genesis 10:1 sn The sons are not listed in order by age. Japheth was oldest (10:21); Ham was youngest (9:24). Shem is listed first due to importance.
  106. Genesis 10:1 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.
  107. Genesis 10:1 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, bene) 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.
  108. Genesis 10:2 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
  109. Genesis 10:2 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.
  110. Genesis 10:2 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
  111. Genesis 10:2 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
  112. Genesis 10:2 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
  113. Genesis 10:2 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.
  114. Genesis 10:2 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.
  115. Genesis 10:2 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
  116. Genesis 10:3 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
  117. Genesis 10:3 sn Ashkenaz 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.
  118. Genesis 10:3 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
  119. Genesis 10:3 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.
  120. Genesis 10:4 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
  121. Genesis 10:4 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.
  122. Genesis 10:4 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.
  123. Genesis 10:4 tc Most of the MT mss read “Dodanim” here, but 1 Chr 1:7 has “Rodanim,” perhaps referring to the island of Rhodes. But the Qere reading in 1 Chr 1:7 suggests “Dodanim.” Dodona is one of the most ancient and revered spots in ancient Greece.
  124. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
  125. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
  126. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
  127. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
  128. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
  129. Genesis 10:7 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
  130. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
  131. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
  132. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
  133. Genesis 10:7 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
  134. Genesis 10:7 sn The name Dedan is associated with ʿUla in northern Arabia.
  135. Genesis 10:8 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.
  136. Genesis 10:9 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).
  137. Genesis 10:9 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yehvah, “before the Lord [YHWH]”), as a means of expressing the superlative degree. In this case one may translate “Nimrod was the greatest hunter in the world.”
  138. Genesis 10:10 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.
  139. Genesis 10:10 tn Or “Babylon.”
  140. Genesis 10:10 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
  141. Genesis 10:10 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
  142. Genesis 10:10 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).
  143. Genesis 10:10 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
  144. Genesis 10:11 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.
  145. Genesis 10:11 tn Heb “Asshur.”
  146. Genesis 10:11 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
  147. Genesis 10:11 sn The name Rehoboth Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
  148. Genesis 10:11 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located 20 miles north of Nineveh.
  149. Genesis 10:12 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
  150. Genesis 10:13 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
  151. Genesis 10:13 tn Heb “fathered.”
  152. Genesis 10:13 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
  153. Genesis 10:13 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
  154. Genesis 10:13 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
  155. Genesis 10:13 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
  156. Genesis 10:14 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
  157. Genesis 10:14 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
  158. Genesis 10:14 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.
  159. Genesis 10:14 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
  160. Genesis 10:15 tn Heb “fathered.”
  161. Genesis 10:15 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
  162. Genesis 10:15 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.
  163. Genesis 10:16 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
  164. Genesis 10:16 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.
  165. Genesis 10:16 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).
  166. Genesis 10:17 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
  167. Genesis 10:17 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
  168. Genesis 10:17 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
  169. Genesis 10:18 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
  170. Genesis 10:18 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
  171. Genesis 10:18 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
  172. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “were.”
  173. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “as you go.”
  174. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “as you go.”
  175. Genesis 10:21 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
  176. Genesis 10:21 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 plus 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.
  177. Genesis 10:22 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ʿelam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
  178. Genesis 10:22 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.
  179. Genesis 10:22 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
  180. Genesis 10:22 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
  181. Genesis 10:22 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
  182. Genesis 10:23 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”sn Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Little is known about these descendants of Aram.
  183. Genesis 10:24 tn Heb “fathered.”
  184. Genesis 10:24 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.
  185. Genesis 10:24 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ʿever) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ʿivri).
  186. Genesis 10:25 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 פָּלַג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.
  187. Genesis 10:26 tn Heb “fathered.”
  188. Genesis 10:26 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
  189. Genesis 10:26 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
  190. Genesis 10:26 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
  191. Genesis 10:26 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
  192. Genesis 10:27 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
  193. Genesis 10:27 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
  194. Genesis 10:28 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
  195. Genesis 10:28 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
  196. Genesis 10:28 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
  197. Genesis 10:29 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).
  198. Genesis 10:29 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
  199. Genesis 10:30 tn Heb “as you go.”
  200. Genesis 10:32 tn Or “separated.”
  201. Genesis 11:1 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.
  202. Genesis 11:1 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.
  203. Genesis 11:2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  204. Genesis 11:2 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
  205. Genesis 11:2 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.
  206. Genesis 11:3 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
  207. Genesis 11:3 tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbenah levenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrefah 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).
  208. Genesis 11:3 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
  209. Genesis 11:3 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
  210. Genesis 11:4 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.
  211. Genesis 11:4 tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (venaʿaseh, from the verb עָשָׁה [ʿasah], “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.
  212. Genesis 11:4 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
  213. Genesis 11:4 sn The Hebrew verb פּוּץ (puts, “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.
  214. Genesis 11:5 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.
  215. Genesis 11:5 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.
  216. Genesis 11:6 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
  217. Genesis 11:6 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.”
  218. Genesis 11:6 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
  219. Genesis 11:7 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 Lord our God said to us…. And the Lord went down and we went down with him. And we saw the city and the tower which the sons of men built.” On the chiastic structure of the story, see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:235.
  220. Genesis 11:7 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
  221. Genesis 11:8 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.
  222. Genesis 11:9 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
  223. Genesis 11:9 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).
  224. Genesis 11:11 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
  225. Genesis 11:13 tn Here and in vv. 15, 16, 19, 21, 23, 25 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
  226. Genesis 11:13 tc The reading of the MT is followed in vv. 11-12; the LXX reads, “And [= when] Arphaxad had lived 35 years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died. And [= when] Cainan had lived 130 years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah]. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah], Cainan lived 330 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.
  227. Genesis 11:28 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 b.c.
  228. Genesis 11:28 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
  229. Genesis 11:29 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.
  230. Genesis 11:29 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.
  231. Genesis 11:32 tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”
  232. Genesis 11:32 tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.