Genesis 7:21

7:21 And all living things ¹  that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind.

Genesis 9:11

9:11 I confirm ²  my covenant with you: Never again will all living things ³  be wiped out ⁴  by the waters of a flood; ⁵  never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

Genesis 9:15

9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you ⁶  and with all living creatures of all kinds. ⁷  Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy ⁸  all living things. ⁹ 

Genesis 18:24

18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare ¹⁰  the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it?

Genesis 19:13

19:13 because we are about to destroy ¹¹  it. The outcry against this place ¹²  is so great before the Lord that he ¹³  has sent us to destroy it.”

Genesis 49:4

49:4 You are destructive ¹⁴  like water and will not excel, ¹⁵ 

for you got on your father’s bed, ¹⁶ 

then you defiled it – he got on my couch! ¹⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “flesh.”

² 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”).

³ tn Heb “all flesh.”

⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

⁵ tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”

³ tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

⁴ tn Heb “all flesh.”

⁵ tn Heb “to destroy.”

⁶ tn Heb “all flesh.”

⁴ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

⁵ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

⁶ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn The Hebrew noun פַּחַז (pakhaz) only occurs here in the OT. A related verb occurs twice in the prophets (Jer 23:32; Zeph 3:4) for false prophets inventing their messages, and once in Judges for unscrupulous men bribed to murder (Judg 9:4). It would describe Reuben as being “frothy, boiling, turbulent” as water. The LXX has “run riot,” the Vulgate has “poured out,” and Tg. Onq. has “you followed your own direction.” It is a reference to Reuben’s misconduct in Gen 35, but the simile and the rare word invite some speculation. H. Pehlke suggests “destructive like water,” for Reuben acted with pride and presumption; see his “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985).

⁷ tn Heb “Do not excel!” The Hiphil of the verb יָתַר (yatar) has this meaning only here. The negated jussive is rhetorical here. Rather than being a command, it anticipates what will transpire. The prophecy says that because of the character of the ancestor, the tribe of Reuben would not have the character to lead (see 1 Chr 5:1).

⁸ sn This is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse with Jacob’s wives (see Gen 35:22).

⁹ tn The last verb is third masculine singular, as if for the first time Jacob told the brothers, or let them know that he knew. For a discussion of this passage see S. Gevirtz, “The Reprimand of Reuben,” JNES 30 (1971): 87-98.