Genesis 8:3

8:3 The waters kept receding steadily ¹  from the earth, so that they ²  had gone down ³  by the end of the 150 days.

Genesis 8:5

8:5 The waters kept on receding ⁴  until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible. ⁵ 

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¹ 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.”

² tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.

⁴ tn Heb “the waters were going and lessening.” The perfect verb form הָיָה (hayah) is used as an auxiliary verb with the infinitive absolute חָסוֹר (khasor, “lessening”), while the infinitive absolute הָלוֹךְ (halokh) indicates continuous action.

⁵ tn Or “could be seen.”