Genesis 6:17

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

Genesis 9:2

9:2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority.

Genesis 16:6

16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your servant is under your authority, do to her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai treated Hagar 10  harshly, 11  so she ran away from Sarai. 12 

Genesis 18:8

18:8 Abraham 13  then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 14  before them. They ate while 15  he was standing near them under a tree.

Genesis 35:4

35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession 16  and the rings that were in their ears. 17  Jacob buried them 18  under the oak 19  near Shechem


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.”

tn Heb “the flood, water.”

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

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.

tn Heb “and fear of you and dread of you will be upon every living creature of the earth and upon every bird of the sky.” The suffixes on the nouns “fear” and “dread” are objective genitives. The animals will fear humans from this time forward.

tn Heb “into your hand are given.” The “hand” signifies power. To say the animals have been given into the hands of humans means humans have been given authority over them.

tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”

tn Heb “in your hand.”

tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

10 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

11 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”

12 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

14 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

15 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.

16 tn Heb “in their hand.”

17 sn On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem (Genesis [WBC], 2:324).

18 sn Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” ST 8 (1954/55): 102-22.

19 tn Or “terebinth.”