Genesis 6:17

6:17 I am about to bring ¹  floodwaters ²  on the earth to destroy ³  from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. ⁴  Everything that is on the earth will die,

Genesis 9:15

9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you ⁵  and with all living creatures of all kinds. ⁶  Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy ⁷  all living things. ⁸ 

Genesis 13:10

13:10 Lot looked up and saw ⁹  the whole region ¹⁰  of the Jordan. He noticed ¹¹  that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated ¹²  Sodom and Gomorrah) ¹³  like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, ¹⁴  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. ¹⁵  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ¹⁶  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ¹⁷ 

Genesis 19:29

19:29 So when God destroyed ¹⁸  the cities of the region, ¹⁹  God honored ²⁰  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ²¹  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ²²  the cities Lot had lived in.

Genesis 38:9

38:9 But Onan knew that the child ²³  would not be considered his. ²⁴  So whenever ²⁵  he had sexual relations with ²⁶  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ²⁷  so as not to give his brother a descendant.

[6:17]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “the flood, water.”

[6:17]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

[9:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “to destroy.”

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[13:10]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”

[13:10]  ¹¹ tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁷ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ¹⁸ tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ²¹ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

[38:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “offspring.”

[38:9]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

[38:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:9]  ²⁵ 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.