Genesis 6:19

6:19 You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh, male and female, to keep them alive with you.

Genesis 6:21

6:21 And you must take for yourself every kind of food that is eaten, and gather it together. It will be food for you and for them.

Genesis 7:3

7:3 and also seven of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of the earth.

Genesis 8:20

8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 10 

Genesis 9:12

9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee 11  of the covenant I am making 12  with you 13  and every living creature with you, a covenant 14  for all subsequent 15  generations:

Genesis 10:5

10:5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.

Genesis 19:4

19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 16  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 17 

Genesis 20:18

20:18 For the Lord 18  had caused infertility to strike every woman 19  in the household of Abimelech because he took 20  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Genesis 34:24

34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate 21  agreed with 22  Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate 23  was circumcised.

Genesis 40:17

40:17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”


tn Heb “from all life, from all flesh, two from all you must bring.” The disjunctive clause at the beginning of the verse (note the conjunction with prepositional phrase, followed by two more prepositional phrases in apposition and then the imperfect verb form) signals a change in mood from announcement (vv. 17-18) to instruction.

tn The Piel infinitive construct לְהַחֲיוֹת (lÿhakhayot, here translated as “to keep them alive”) shows the purpose of bringing the animals into the ark – saving life. The Piel of this verb means here “to preserve alive.”

tn The verb is a direct imperative: “And you, take for yourself.” The form stresses the immediate nature of the instruction; the pronoun underscores the directness.

tn Heb “from all food,” meaning “some of every kind of food.”

tn Or “will be eaten.”

tn Heb “and gather it to you.”

tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).

tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”

10 sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. After the flood Noah could see that God was not only a God of wrath, but a God of redemption and restoration. The one who escaped the catastrophe could best express his gratitude and submission through sacrificial worship, acknowledging God as the sovereign of the universe.

11 tn Heb “sign.”

12 sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.

13 tn Heb “between me and between you.”

14 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

15 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.

16 tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

17 tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

18 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”

19 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

sn The Lord had closed up every womb. This fact indicates that Sarah was in Abimelech’s household for weeks or months before the dream revelation was given (20:6-7). No one in his household could have children after Sarah arrived on the scene.

20 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

21 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

22 tn Heb “listened to.”

23 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”