8:1 But God remembered 1 Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over 2 the earth and the waters receded. 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, 3 and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily 4 from the earth, so that they 5 had gone down 6 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. 7 8:5 The waters kept on receding 8 until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible. 9
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.”
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. 47
11:1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 11:2 “Tell the Israelites: ‘This is the kind of creature you may eat from among all the animals 48 that are on the land. 11:3 You may eat any among the animals that has a divided hoof (the hooves are completely split in two 49 ) and that also chews the cud. 50 11:4 However, you must not eat these 51 from among those that chew the cud and have divided hooves: The camel is unclean to you 52 because it chews the cud 53 even though its hoof is not divided. 54 11:5 The rock badger 55 is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. 11:6 The hare is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. 11:7 The pig is unclean to you because its hoof is divided (the hoof is completely split in two 56 ), even though it does not chew the cud. 57 11:8 You must not eat from their meat and you must not touch their carcasses; 58 they are unclean to you.
11:9 “‘These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, 59 whether in the seas or in the streams, 60 you may eat. 11:10 But any creatures that do not have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, from all the swarming things of the water and from all the living creatures that are in the water, are detestable to you. 11:11 Since they are detestable to you, you must not eat their meat and their carcass you must detest. 11:12 Any creature in the water that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you.
11:13 “‘These you are to detest from among the birds – they must not be eaten, because they are detestable: 61 the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 11:14 the kite, the buzzard of any kind, 62 11:15 every kind of crow, 63 11:16 the eagle owl, 64 the short-eared owl, the long-eared owl, the hawk of any kind, 11:17 the little owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, 11:18 the white owl, the scops owl, the osprey, 11:19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
11:20 “‘Every winged swarming thing that walks on all fours 65 is detestable to you. 11:21 However, this you may eat from all the winged swarming things that walk on all fours, which have jointed legs 66 to hop with on the land. 11:22 These you may eat from them: 67 the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, the grasshopper of any kind. 11:23 But any other winged swarming thing that has four legs is detestable to you.
11:24 “‘By these 68 you defile yourselves; anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, 11:25 and anyone who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until the evening.
11:26 “‘All 69 animals that divide the hoof but it is not completely split in two 70 and do not chew the cud 71 are unclean to you; anyone who touches them becomes unclean. 72 11:27 All that walk on their paws among all the creatures that walk on all fours 73 are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, 11:28 and the one who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
11:29 “‘Now this is what is unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the land: 74 the rat, the mouse, the large lizard of any kind, 11:30 the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon. 11:31 These are the ones that are unclean to you among all the swarming things. Anyone who touches them when they die will be unclean until evening. 11:32 Also, anything they fall on 75 when they die will become unclean – any wood vessel or garment or article of leather or sackcloth. Any such vessel with which work is done must be immersed in water 76 and will be unclean until the evening. Then it will become clean. 11:33 As for any clay vessel they fall into, 77 everything in it 78 will become unclean and you must break it. 11:34 Any food that may be eaten which becomes soaked with water 79 will become unclean. Anything drinkable 80 in any such vessel will become unclean. 81 11:35 Anything their carcass may fall on will become unclean. An oven or small stove must be smashed to pieces; they are unclean, and they will stay unclean 82 to you. 11:36 However, a spring or a cistern which collects water 83 will be clean, but one who touches their carcass will be unclean. 11:37 Now, if such a carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, 84 it is clean, 11:38 but if water is put on the seed and such a carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
11:39 “‘Now if an animal 85 that you may eat dies, 86 whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening. 11:40 One who eats from its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 11:41 Every swarming thing that swarms on the land is detestable; it must not be eaten. 11:42 You must not eat anything that crawls 87 on its belly or anything that walks on all fours or on any number of legs 88 of all the swarming things that swarm on the land, because they are detestable. 11:43 Do not make yourselves detestable by any of the swarming things. 89 You must not defile yourselves by them and become unclean by them, 11:44 for I am the Lord your God and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground, 11:45 for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, 90 and you are to be holy because I am holy. 11:46 This is the law 91 of the land animals, the birds, all the living creatures that move in the water, and all the creatures 92 that swarm on the land, 11:47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living creatures that must not be eaten.’”
14:1 You are children 93 of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald 94 for the sake of the dead. 14:2 For you are a people holy 95 to the Lord your God. He 96 has chosen you to be his people, prized 97 above all others on the face of the earth. 14:3 You must not eat any forbidden 98 thing. 14:4 These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 14:5 the ibex, 99 the gazelle, 100 the deer, 101 the wild goat, the antelope, 102 the wild oryx, 103 and the mountain sheep. 104 14:6 You may eat any animal that has hooves divided into two parts and that chews the cud. 105 14:7 However, you may not eat the following animals among those that chew the cud or those that have divided hooves: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger. 106 (Although they chew the cud, they do not have divided hooves and are therefore ritually impure to you). 14:8 Also the pig is ritually impure to you; though it has divided hooves, 107 it does not chew the cud. You may not eat their meat or even touch their remains. 14:9 These you may eat from among water creatures: anything with fins and scales you may eat, 14:10 but whatever does not have fins and scales you may not eat; it is ritually impure to you. 14:11 All ritually clean birds you may eat. 14:12 These are the ones you may not eat: the eagle, 108 the vulture, 109 the black vulture, 110 14:13 the kite, the black kite, the dayyah 111 after its species, 14:14 every raven after its species, 14:15 the ostrich, 112 the owl, 113 the seagull, the falcon 114 after its species, 14:16 the little owl, the long-eared owl, the white owl, 115 14:17 the jackdaw, 116 the carrion vulture, the cormorant, 14:18 the stork, the heron after its species, the hoopoe, the bat, 14:19 and any winged thing on the ground are impure to you – they may not be eaten. 117 14:20 You may eat any clean bird. 14:21 You may not eat any corpse, though you may give it to the resident foreigner who is living in your villages 118 and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. You are a people holy to the Lord your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. 119
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 tn Heb “to pass over.”
3 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 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 tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.
7 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).
8 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 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, ha’adamah) is dry; now the earth (הָאָרֶץ, ha’arets) 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
31 tn The
32 tn Heb “and the
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 Heb “from all life, from all flesh, two from all you must bring.” The disjunctive clause at the beginning of the verse (note the conjunction with prepositional phrase, followed by two more prepositional phrases in apposition and then the imperfect verb form) signals a change in mood from announcement (vv. 17-18) to instruction.
41 tn The Piel infinitive construct לְהַחֲיוֹת (lÿhakhayot, here translated as “to keep them alive”) shows the purpose of bringing the animals into the ark – saving life. The Piel of this verb means here “to preserve alive.”
42 tn Heb “to keep alive.”
43 tn The verb is a direct imperative: “And you, take for yourself.” The form stresses the immediate nature of the instruction; the pronoun underscores the directness.
44 tn Heb “from all food,” meaning “some of every kind of food.”
45 tn Or “will be eaten.”
46 tn Heb “and gather it to you.”
47 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
48 tn Heb “the animal,” but as a collective plural, and so throughout this chapter.
49 tn Heb “every divider of hoof and cleaver of the cleft of hooves”; KJV, ASV “parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted.”
50 tn Heb “bringer up of the cud” (a few of the ancient versions include the conjunction “and,” but it does not appear in the MT). The following verses make it clear that both dividing the hoof and chewing the cud were required; one of these conditions would not be enough to make the animal suitable for eating without the other.
51 tn Heb “this,” but as a collective plural (see the following context).
52 sn Regarding “clean” versus “unclean,” see the note on Lev 10:10.
53 tn Heb “because a chewer of the cud it is” (see also vv. 5 and 6).
54 tn Heb “and hoof there is not dividing” (see also vv. 5 and 6).
55 sn A small animal generally understood to be Hyrax syriacus; KJV, ASV, NIV “coney”; NKJV “rock hyrax.”
56 tn See the note on Lev 11:3.
57 tn The meaning and basic rendering of this clause is quite certain, but the verb for “chewing” the cud here is not the same as the preceding verses, where the expression is “to bring up the cud” (see the note on v. 3 above). It appears to be a cognate verb for the noun “cud” (גֵּרָה, gerah) and could mean either “to drag up” (i.e., from the Hebrew Qal of גָרָר [garar] meaning “to drag,” referring to the dragging the cud up and down between the stomach and mouth of the ruminant animal; so J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:647, 653) or “to chew” (i.e., from the Hebrew Niphal [or Qal B] of גָרָר used in a reciprocal sense; so J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 149, and compare BDB 176 s.v. גָרַר, “to chew,” with HALOT 204 s.v. גרר qal.B, “to ruminate”).
58 sn The regulations against touching the carcasses of dead unclean animals (contrast the restriction against eating their flesh) is treated in more detail in Lev 11:24-28 (cf. also vv. 29-40). For the time being, this chapter continues to develop the issue of what can and cannot be eaten.
59 tn Heb “all which have fin and scale” (see also vv. 10 and 12).
60 tn Heb “in the water, in the seas and in the streams” (see also vv. 10 and 12).
61 tn For zoological remarks on the following list of birds see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:662-64; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 159-60.
62 tn Heb “and the buzzard to its kind” (see also vv. 16 and 19 for the same expression “of any kind”).
63 tn Heb “every crow to its kind.” Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) render this as “raven.”
64 tn Literally, “the daughter of the wasteland.” Various proposals for the species of bird referred to here include “owl” (KJV), “horned owl” (NIV, NCV), and “ostrich” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
65 tn Heb “the one walking on four” (cf. vv. 21-23 and 27-28).
66 tn Heb “which to it are lower legs from above to its feet” (reading the Qere “to it” rather than the Kethib “not”).
67 tn For entomological remarks on the following list of insects see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:665-66; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 160-61.
68 tn Heb “and to these.”
69 tn Heb “to all” (cf. the note on v. 24). This and the following verses develop more fully the categories of uncleanness set forth in principle in vv. 24-25.
70 tn Heb “divides hoof and cleft it does not cleave”; KJV “divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted”; NLT “divided but unsplit hooves.”
71 tn See the note on Lev 11:3.
72 sn Compare the regulations in Lev 11:2-8.
73 tn Heb “the one walking on four.” Compare Lev 11:20-23.
74 tn For zoological analyses of the list of creatures in vv. 29-30, see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:671-72; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 161-62.
75 tn Heb “And all which it shall fall on it from them.”
76 tn Heb “in water it shall be brought.”
77 tn Heb “And any earthenware vessel which shall fall from them into its midst.”
78 tn Heb “all which is in its midst.”
79 tn Heb “which water comes on it.”
80 tn Heb “any drink which may be drunk”; NASB “any liquid which may be drunk”; NLT “any beverage that is in such an unclean container.”
81 tn This half of the verse assumes that the unclean carcass has fallen into the food or drink (cf. v. 33 and also vv. 35-38).
82 tn Heb “be unclean.”
83 tn Heb “a spring and a cistern collection of water”; NAB, NIV “for collecting water.”
84 tn Heb “And if there falls from their carcass on any seed of sowing which shall be sown.”
85 tn This word for “animal” refers to land animal quadrupeds, not just any beast that dwells on the land (cf. 11:2).
86 tn Heb “which is food for you” or “which is for you to eat.”
87 tn Heb “goes” (KJV, ASV “goeth”); NIV “moves about”; NLT “slither along.” The same Hebrew term is translated “walks” in the following clause.
88 tn Heb “until all multiplying of legs.”
89 tn Heb “by any of the swarming things that swarm.”
90 tn Heb “to be to you for a God.”
91 sn The Hebrew term translated “law” (תוֹרָה, torah) introduces here a summary or colophon for all of Lev 11. Similar summaries are found in Lev 7:37-38; 13:59; 14:54-57; and 15:32-33.
92 tn Heb “for all the creatures.”
93 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); TEV, NLT “people.”
94 sn Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 [LXX]; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.
95 tn Or “set apart.”
96 tn Heb “The
97 tn Or “treasured.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah) describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4-6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1 Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, NIDOTTE 3:224.
98 tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “forbidden; abhorrent”) describes anything detestable to the
99 tn The Hebrew term אַיָּל (’ayyal) may refer to a type of deer (cf. Arabic ’ayyal). Cf. NAB “the red deer.”
100 tn The Hebrew term צְבִי (tsÿvi) is sometimes rendered “roebuck” (so KJV).
101 tn The Hebrew term יַחְמוּר (yakhmur) may refer to a “fallow deer”; cf. Arabic yahmur (“deer”). Cf. NAB, NIV, NCV “roe deer”; NEB, NRSV, NLT “roebuck.”
102 tn The Hebrew term דִּישֹׁן (dishon) is a hapax legomenon. Its referent is uncertain but the animal is likely a variety of antelope (cf. NEB “white-rumped deer”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “ibex”).
103 tn The Hebrew term תְּאוֹ (tÿ’o; a variant is תּוֹא, to’) could also refer to another species of antelope. Cf. NEB “long-horned antelope”; NIV, NRSV “antelope.”
104 tn The Hebrew term זֶמֶר (zemer) is another hapax legomenon with the possible meaning “wild sheep.” Cf. KJV, ASV “chamois”; NEB “rock-goat”; NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “mountain sheep.”
105 tn The Hebrew text includes “among the animals.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
106 tn The Hebrew term שָׁפָן (shafan) may refer to the “coney” (cf. KJV, NIV) or hyrax (“rock badger,” cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
107 tc The MT lacks (probably by haplography) the phrase וְשֹׁסַע שֶׁסַע פַּרְסָה (vÿshosa’ shesa’ parsah, “and is clovenfooted,” i.e., “has parted hooves”), a phrase found in the otherwise exact parallel in Lev 11:7. The LXX and Smr attest the longer reading here. The meaning is, however, clear without it.
108 tn NEB “the griffon-vulture.”
109 tn The Hebrew term פֶּרֶס (peres) describes a large vulture otherwise known as the ossifrage (cf. KJV). This largest of the vultures takes its name from its habit of dropping skeletal remains from a great height so as to break the bones apart.
110 tn The Hebrew term עָזְנִיָּה (’ozniyyah) may describe the black vulture (so NIV) or it may refer to the osprey (so NAB, NRSV, NLT), an eagle-like bird subsisting mainly on fish.
111 tn The Hebrew term is דַּיָּה (dayyah). This, with the previous two terms (רָאָה [ra’ah] and אַיָּה [’ayyah]), is probably a kite of some species but otherwise impossible to specify.
112 tn Or “owl.” The Hebrew term בַּת הַיַּעֲנָה (bat hayya’anah) is sometimes taken as “ostrich” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT), but may refer instead to some species of owl (cf. KJV “owl”; NEB “desert-owl”; NIV “horned owl”).
113 tn The Hebrew term תַּחְמָס (takhmas) is either a type of owl (cf. NEB “short-eared owl”; NIV “screech owl”) or possibly the nighthawk (so NRSV, NLT).
114 tn The Hebrew term נֵץ (nets) may refer to the falcon or perhaps the hawk (so NEB, NIV).
115 tn The Hebrew term תִּנְשֶׁמֶת (tinshemet) may refer to a species of owl (cf. ASV “horned owl”; NASB, NIV, NLT “white owl”) or perhaps even to the swan (so KJV); cf. NRSV “water hen.”
116 tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qa’at) may also refer to a type of owl (NAB, NIV, NRSV “desert owl”) or perhaps the pelican (so KJV, NASB, NLT).
117 tc The MT reads the Niphal (passive) for expected Qal (“you [plural] must not eat”); cf. Smr, LXX. However, the harder reading should stand.
118 tn Heb “gates” (also in vv. 27, 28, 29).
119 sn Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. This strange prohibition – one whose rationale is unclear but probably related to pagan ritual – may seem out of place here but actually is not for the following reasons: (1) the passage as a whole opens with a prohibition against heathen mourning rites (i.e., death, vv. 1-2) and closes with what appear to be birth and infancy rites. (2) In the other two places where the stipulation occurs (Exod 23:19 and Exod 34:26) it similarly concludes major sections. (3) Whatever the practice signified it clearly was abhorrent to the
120 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
121 tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
122 tn On the heavens “opening,” see Matt 3:16; Luke 3:21; Rev 19:11 (cf. BDAG 84 s.v. ἀνοίγω 2). This is the language of a vision or a revelatory act of God.
123 tn Or “a large linen cloth” (the term was used for the sail of a ship; BDAG 693 s.v. ὀθόνη).
124 tn Or “coming down.”
125 tn Or “to the ground.”
126 tn Grk “in which.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.
127 tn Or “snakes.” Grk “creeping things.” According to L&N 4.51, in most biblical contexts the term (due to the influence of Hebrew classifications such as Gen 1:25-26, 30) included small four-footed animals like rats, mice, frogs, toads, salamanders, and lizards. In this context, however, where “creeping things” are contrasted with “four-footed animals,” the English word “reptiles,” which primarily but not exclusively designates snakes, is probably more appropriate. See also Gen 6:20, as well as the law making such creatures unclean food in Lev 11:2-47.
128 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
129 tn Grk “And there came.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
130 tn Grk “a voice to him”; the word “said” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
131 tn Or “kill.” Traditionally θῦσον (quson) is translated “kill,” but in the case of animals intended for food, “slaughter” is more appropriate.
132 tn Possibly there is a subtle distinction in meaning between κοινός (koinos) and ἀκάθαρτος (akaqarto") here, but according to L&N 53.39 it is difficult to determine precise differences in meaning based on existing contexts.
133 tn Grk “And the voice.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
134 tn Or “declare.”
135 sn For the significance of this vision see Mark 7:14-23; Rom 14:14; Eph 2:11-22. God directed this change in practice.