Genesis 6:12

6:12 God saw the earth, and indeed ¹  it was ruined, ²  for all living creatures ³  on the earth were sinful. ⁴ 

Genesis 18:28

18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ⁵  the whole city because five are lacking?” ⁶  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

Genesis 19:13

19:13 because we are about to destroy ⁷  it. The outcry against this place ⁸  is so great before the Lord that he ⁹  has sent us to destroy it.”

Genesis 6:11

6:11 The earth was ruined ¹⁰  in the sight of ¹¹  God; the earth was filled with violence. ¹² 

Genesis 6:13

6:13 So God said ¹³  to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, ¹⁴  for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy ¹⁵  them and the earth.

Genesis 9:11

9:11 I confirm ¹⁶  my covenant with you: Never again will all living things ¹⁷  be wiped out ¹⁸  by the waters of a flood; ¹⁹  never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

Genesis 18:31-32

18:31 Abraham ²⁰  said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

18:32 Finally Abraham ²¹  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

Genesis 6:17

6:17 I am about to bring ²²  floodwaters ²³  on the earth to destroy ²⁴  from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. ²⁵  Everything that is on the earth will die,

Genesis 9:15

9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you ²⁶  and with all living creatures of all kinds. ²⁷  Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy ²⁸  all living things. ²⁹ 

Genesis 13:10

13:10 Lot looked up and saw ³⁰  the whole region ³¹  of the Jordan. He noticed ³²  that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated ³³  Sodom and Gomorrah) ³⁴  like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, ³⁵  all the way to Zoar.

Genesis 19:14

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ³⁶  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ³⁷  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ³⁸ 

Genesis 19:29

19:29 So when God destroyed ³⁹  the cities of the region, ⁴⁰  God honored ⁴¹  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ⁴²  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ⁴³  the cities Lot had lived in.

Genesis 38:9

38:9 But Onan knew that the child ⁴⁴  would not be considered his. ⁴⁵  So whenever ⁴⁶  he had sexual relations with ⁴⁷  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ⁴⁸  so as not to give his brother a descendant.

[6:12]  ¹ tn Or “God saw how corrupt the earth was.”

[6:12]  ² tn The repetition in the text (see v. 11) emphasizes the point.

[6:12]  ³ tn Heb “flesh.” Since moral corruption is in view here, most modern western interpreters understand the referent to be humankind. However, the phrase “all flesh” is used consistently of humankind and the animals in Gen 6-9 (6:17, 19; 7:15-16, 21; 8:17; 9:11, 15-17), suggesting that the author intends to picture all living creatures, humankind and animals, as guilty of moral failure. This would explain why the animals, not just humankind, are victims of the ensuing divine judgment. The OT sometimes views animals as morally culpable (Gen 9:5; Exod 21:28-29; Jonah 3:7-8). The OT also teaches that a person’s sin can contaminate others (people and animals) in the sinful person’s sphere (see the story of Achan, especially Josh 7:10). So the animals could be viewed here as morally contaminated because of their association with sinful humankind.

[6:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “had corrupted its way.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “way” refers to the collective “all flesh.” The construction “corrupt one’s way” occurs only here (though Ezek 16:47 uses the Hiphil in an intransitive sense with the preposition בְּ [bet, “in”] followed by “ways”). The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) means “to ruin, to destroy, to corrupt,” often as here in a moral/ethical sense. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to behavior or moral character, a sense that it frequently carries (see BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a).

[18:28]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.

[18:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “because of five.”

[19:13]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[6:11]  ¹³ tn Apart from Gen 6:11-12, the Niphal form of this verb occurs in Exod 8:20 HT (8:24 ET), where it describes the effect of the swarms of flies on the land of Egypt; Jer 13:7 and 18:4, where it is used of a “ruined” belt and “marred” clay pot, respectively; and Ezek 20:44, where it describes Judah’s morally “corrupt” actions. The sense “morally corrupt” fits well in Gen 6:11 because of the parallelism (note “the earth was filled with violence”). In this case “earth” would stand by metonymy for its sinful inhabitants. However, the translation “ruined” works just as well, if not better. In this case humankind’s sin is viewed has having an adverse effect upon the earth. Note that vv. 12b-13 make a distinction between the earth and the living creatures who live on it.

[6:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “before.”

[6:11]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew word translated “violence” refers elsewhere to a broad range of crimes, including unjust treatment (Gen 16:5; Amos 3:10), injurious legal testimony (Deut 19:16), deadly assault (Gen 49:5), murder (Judg 9:24), and rape (Jer 13:22).

[6:13]  ¹⁷ sn On the divine style utilized here, see R. Lapointe, “The Divine Monologue as a Channel of Revelation,” CBQ 32 (1970): 161-81.

[6:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the end of all flesh is coming [or “has come”] before me.” (The verb form is either a perfect or a participle.) The phrase “end of all flesh” occurs only here. The term “end” refers here to the end of “life,” as v. 3 and the following context (which describes how God destroys all flesh) make clear. The statement “the end has come” occurs in Ezek 7:2, 6, where it is used of divine judgment. The phrase “come before” occurs in Exod 28:30, 35; 34:34; Lev 15:14; Num 27:17; 1 Sam 18:13, 16; 2 Sam 19:8; 20:8; 1 Kgs 1:23, 28, 32; Ezek 46:9; Pss 79:11 (groans come before God); 88:3 (a prayer comes before God); 100:2; 119:170 (prayer comes before God); Lam 1:22 (evil doing comes before God); Esth 1:19; 8:1; 9:25; 1 Chr 16:29. The expression often means “have an audience with” or “appear before.” But when used metaphorically, it can mean “get the attention of” or “prompt a response.” This is probably the sense in Gen 6:13. The necessity of ending the life of all flesh on earth is an issue that has gotten the attention of God. The term “end” may even be a metonymy for that which has prompted it – violence (see the following clause).

[6:13]  ¹⁹ tn The participle, especially after הִנֵּה (hinneh) has an imminent future nuance. The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) here has the sense “to destroy” (in judgment). Note the wordplay involving this verb in vv. 11-13: The earth is “ruined” because all flesh has acted in a morally “corrupt” manner. Consequently, God will “destroy” all flesh (the referent of the suffix “them”) along with the ruined earth. They had ruined themselves and the earth with violence, and now God would ruin them with judgment. For other cases where “earth” occurs as the object of the Hiphil of שָׁחָת, see 1 Sam 6:5; 1 Chr 20:1; Jer 36:29; 51:25.

[9:11]  ²¹ 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”).

[9:11]  ²² tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:11]  ²³ tn Heb “cut off.”

[9:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”

[18:31]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:32]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:17]  ³³ tn The Hebrew construction uses the independent personal pronoun, followed by a suffixed form of הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) and the a participle used with an imminent future nuance: “As for me, look, I am going to bring.”

[6:17]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the flood, water.”

[6:17]  ³⁵ tn The verb שָׁחָת (shakhat, “to destroy”) is repeated yet again, only now in an infinitival form expressing the purpose of the flood.

[6:17]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew construction here is different from the previous two; here it is רוּחַ חַיִּים (ruakh khayyim) rather than נֶפֶשׁ הַיָּה (nefesh khayyah) or נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים (nishmat khayyim). It refers to everything that breathes.

[9:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

[9:15]  ³⁸ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to destroy.”

[9:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[13:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.

[13:10]  ⁴² tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”

[13:10]  ⁴³ tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ⁴⁴ sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).

[13:10]  ⁴⁵ tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ⁴⁶ sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the Lord and to the land of Egypt for comparison. Just as the tree in the garden of Eden had awakened Eve’s desire, so the fertile valley attracted Lot. And just as certain memories of Egypt would cause the Israelites to want to turn back and abandon the trek to the promised land, so Lot headed for the good life.

[19:14]  ⁴⁵ sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[19:29]  ⁴⁹ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked.

[19:29]  ⁵² sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

[38:9]  ⁵³ tn Heb “offspring.”

[38:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.

[38:9]  ⁵⁵ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

[38:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.