Genesis 7:11

7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep ¹  burst open and the floodgates of the heavens ²  were opened.

Genesis 19:24

19:24 Then the Lord rained down ³  sulfur and fire ⁴  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ⁵ 

Genesis 19:2

19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night ⁶  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ⁷  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ⁸ 

Genesis 7:2

7:2 You must take with you seven ⁹  of every kind of clean animal, ¹⁰  the male and its mate, ¹¹  two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,

¹ tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 1:2).

² sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46.

³ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

⁴ tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

⁵ tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

⁷ tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

⁸ sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

⁹ tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

¹⁰ sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.

¹¹ tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.