Genesis 8:1-22

8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over the earth and the waters receded. 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily from the earth, so that they had gone down 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. 8:5 The waters kept on receding until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

8:6 At the end of forty days, 10  Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 11  8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying 12  back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.

8:8 Then Noah 13  sent out a dove 14  to see if the waters had receded 15  from the surface of the ground. 8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered 16  the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah 17  in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, 18  and brought it back into the ark. 19  8:10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 8:11 When 20  the dove returned to him in the evening, there was 21  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, 22  but it did not return to him this time. 23 

8:13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year, 24  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 25  the surface of the ground was dry. 8:14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth 26  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 27  every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase 28  and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!” 29 

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. 30  8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma 31  and said 32  to himself, 33  “I will never again curse 34  the ground because of humankind, even though 35  the inclination of their minds 36  is evil from childhood on. 37  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

8:22 “While the earth continues to exist, 38 

planting time 39  and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

and day and night will not cease.”

Genesis 12:7

12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants 40  I will give this land.” So Abram 41  built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 12:1

The Obedience of Abram

12:1 Now the Lord said 42  to Abram, 43 

“Go out 44  from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household

to the land that I will show you. 45 

Colossians 1:20

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, 46  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Hebrews 9:18

9:18 So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. 47 

Hebrews 12:24

12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator 48  of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does. 49 

Hebrews 12:1

The Lord’s Discipline

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 50  we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,

Hebrews 1:2

1:2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, 51  whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. 52 

Hebrews 1:1

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago 53  in various portions 54  and in various ways 55  to our ancestors 56  through the prophets,


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).

tn Heb “to pass over.”

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.

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.”

tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.

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).

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.

tn Or “could be seen.”

10 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.

11 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 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.

13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

14 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.

15 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.

16 tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

17 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

18 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

19 tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”

20 tn The clause introduced by vav (ו) consecutive is translated as a temporal clause subordinated to the following clause.

21 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 tn The word “again” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

23 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 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 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 tn In v. 13 the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, haadamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, haarets) is dry.

27 tn The words “bring out” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

28 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 tn Heb “and let them swarm in the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

30 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 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.

32 tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

33 tn Heb “in his heart.”

34 tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

35 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 tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

37 tn Heb “from his youth.”

38 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 tn Heb “seed,” which stands here by metonymy for the time when seed is planted.

40 tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

41 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

42 sn The Lord called Abram while he was in Ur (see Gen 15:7; Acts 7:2); but the sequence here makes it look like it was after the family left to migrate to Canaan (11:31-32). Genesis records the call of Abram at this place in the narrative because it is the formal beginning of the account of Abram. The record of Terah was brought to its end before this beginning.

43 tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.

44 tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”

45 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the Lord. The command is to leave. The Lord’s word is very specific about what Abram is to leave (the three prepositional phrases narrow to his father’s household), but is not specific at all about where he is to go. God required faith, a point that Heb 11:8 notes.

46 tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (diautou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì46 א A C D1 Ψ 048vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.

47 sn The Greek text reinforces this by negating the opposite (“not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood”), but this double negation is not used in contemporary English.

48 tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.

49 sn Abel’s shed blood cried out to the Lord for justice and judgment, but Jesus’ blood speaks of redemption and forgiveness, something better than Abel’s does (Gen 4:10; Heb 9:11-14; 11:4).

50 tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”

51 tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

52 tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.

53 tn Or “spoke formerly.”

54 tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

55 tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

56 tn Grk “to the fathers.”