Amos 9:6

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace ¹  in heaven

and sets its foundation supports ²  on the earth. ³ 

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

Genesis 7:11-20

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 ⁴  burst open and the floodgates of the heavens ⁵  were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell ⁶  on the earth forty days and forty nights.

7:13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives. ⁷  7:14 They entered, ⁸  along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. ⁹  7:15 Pairs ¹⁰  of all creatures ¹¹  that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female, ¹²  just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

7:17 The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed ¹³  the earth, and the ark floated ¹⁴  on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated ¹⁵  the earth so that even ¹⁶  all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet ¹⁷  above the mountains. ¹⁸ 

Genesis 7:1

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. ¹⁹ 

Genesis 18:1

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ²⁰  by the oaks ²¹  of Mamre while ²²  he was sitting at the entrance ²³  to his tent during the hottest time of the day.

Genesis 18:1

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ²⁴  by the oaks ²⁵  of Mamre while ²⁶  he was sitting at the entrance ²⁷  to his tent during the hottest time of the day.

Job 37:13

37:13 Whether it is for punishment ²⁸  for his land,

or whether it is for mercy,

he causes it to find its mark. ²⁹ 

Job 38:34

38:34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds

so that a flood of water covers you? ³⁰ 

[9:6]  ¹ tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).

[9:6]  ² tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.

[9:6]  ³ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.

[7:11]  ⁴ 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).

[7:11]  ⁵ sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46.

[7:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “was.”

[7:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “On that very day Noah entered, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark.”

[7:14]  ⁸ tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”

[7:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”

[7:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “flesh.”

[7:16]  ¹² tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”

[7:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the waters were great and multiplied exceedingly.” The first verb in the sequence is וַיִּגְבְּרוּ (vayyigbÿru, from גָּבַר, gavar), meaning “to become great, mighty.” The waters did not merely rise; they “prevailed” over the earth, overwhelming it.

[7:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “went.”

[7:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.

[7:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and.”

[7:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “rose fifteen cubits.” Since a cubit is considered by most authorities to be about eighteen inches, this would make the depth 22.5 feet. This figure might give the modern reader a false impression of exactness, however, so in the translation the phrase “fifteen cubits” has been rendered “more than twenty feet.”

[7:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward and they covered the mountains.” Obviously, a flood of twenty feet did not cover the mountains; the statement must mean the flood rose about twenty feet above the highest mountain.

[7:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.

[18:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ²¹ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ²² tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ²³ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[18:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ²⁶ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[37:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “rod,” i.e., a rod used for punishment.

[37:13]  ²⁹ tn This is interpretive; Heb “he makes find it.” The lightning could be what is intended here, for it finds its mark. But R. Gordis (Job, 429) suggests man is the subject – let him find what it is for, i.e., the fate appropriate for him.

[38:34]  ³⁰ tc The LXX has “answer you,” and some editors have adopted this. However, the reading of the MT makes better sense in the verse.