Genesis 1:7

1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. ¹  It was so. ² 

Genesis 1:9

1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place ³  and let dry ground appear.” ⁴  It was so.

Genesis 35:8

35:8 (Deborah, ⁵  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ⁶  Oak of Weeping.) ⁷ 

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “the expanse.”

[1:7]  ² tn This statement indicates that it happened the way God designed it, underscoring the connection between word and event.

[1:9]  ³ sn Let the water…be gathered to one place. In the beginning the water covered the whole earth; now the water was to be restricted to an area to form the ocean. The picture is one of the dry land as an island with the sea surrounding it. Again the sovereignty of God is revealed. Whereas the pagans saw the sea as a force to be reckoned with, God controls the boundaries of the sea. And in the judgment at the flood he will blur the boundaries so that chaos returns.

[1:9]  ⁴ tn When the waters are collected to one place, dry land emerges above the surface of the receding water.

[35:8]  ⁵ sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.

[35:8]  ⁶ tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

[35:8]  ⁷ tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.