Genesis 7:18

7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed ¹  the earth, and the ark floated ²  on the surface of the waters.

Genesis 8:3

8:3 The waters kept receding steadily ³  from the earth, so that they ⁴  had gone down ⁵  by the end of the 150 days.

[7:18]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “went.”

[8:3]  ³ tn The construction combines a Qal preterite from שׁוּב (shuv) with its infinitive absolute to indicate continuous action. The infinitive absolute from הָלָךְ (halakh) is included for emphasis: “the waters returned…going and returning.”

[8:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:3]  ⁵ tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.