Gênesis 7
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
Gênesis 7:1-5
7:1 "the Lord said to Noah" This is the covenant name for Israel's Deity, YHWH, here but in Gen. 7:16 He is called Elohim. The rabbinical understanding of these names referring to God are aspects of His character; savior (YHWH) and Creator (Elohim). This seems to fit the usages of the Pentateuch. SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C. and D. SPECIAL TOPIC: PENTATEUCH SOURCE CRITICISM ▣ "Enter the ark" This VERB (BDB 92, KB 112) is a Qal IMPERATIVE. The timing is at YHWH's descretion. Just a word to remind you of the ambiguous construction terms related to the ark, the tabernacle, and David/Solomon's temple. Moderns simply cannot reconstruct these things based on the discriptions in the Bible. ▣ "for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time" The term "righteous" here is used in the same sense as referring to Job as "blameless" (cf, Gen. 6:9). This does not imply a sinlessness but one who has conformed to and performed all that they understand or is culturally expressed in relation to God. Notice that Noah's righteousness affects his family. This is a biblical truth. This does not mean that someone can be right with God based on another person's merit, but it does imply that spiritual blessings flow from those who know God to those with whom they are acquainted and with whom they are intimately involved (compare Deut. 5:9-10; 7:9 and 1 Cor. 7:14). SPECIAL TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS SPECIAL TOPIC: HOUSEHOLD BAPTISMS 7:2 "clean animal by sevens, a male and his female" There is a distinction between clean and unclean. However, nothing is said about the criteria. Later in the life of the nation of Israel, YHWH will reveal the distinction. In this period of Israel's history, the unclean animals were often related to the surrounding pagan cultures. The food laws of Leviticus 11 were one way to separate Israel from the nations. I see the food laws as religious, not hygienic (see notes online at Leviticus 11). In Gen. 9:3 all animals are allowed for food, but in Gen. 5:20 only "clean" animals were sacrificed to God. There has been much discussion about "by seven." Literally "seven, seven." It is translated "seven pairs" in NRSV, NJB, JPSOA. Does it mean seven individual animals or seven pairs of animals? The phrase "male and his female" implies pairs. SPECIAL TOPIC: OT FOOD LAWS SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE, #4 7:4 "seven more days, I will send rain on the earth" Rashi says that this was the period of mourning for the righteous Methuselah who had just died. The rabbinical Midrash believed that God did not send the flood until Methuselah passed away. The origin of the week is shrouded in mystery. The best option is not related to the solar or lunar cycles, but to the recurrent use of "seven" in the Gilgamesh Epic and the Ba'al poetry of Ugarit. see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 186-188. ▣ "forty days and forty nights" The term "forty" is used quite often in the Bible (see a concordance). At times it is meant to be taken literally but at other times it simply means a long period of indefinite time (longer than a lunar cycle which is twenty-eight and one-half days, but shorter than a seasonal change). In several Mesopotamian accounts the time frame of the flood is seven days. SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE, #7 7:5 Noah's righteousness is connected to his obedience (cf. Gen. 6:22; 7:5,9,16). The VERB "commanded" (BDB 845, KB 1010, Piel PERFECT) must relate to special revelation from YHWH (i.e., "YHWH said to Noah," v. 1). SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP SPECIAL TOPIC: WAYS OF REVELATION
Gênesis 7:6-12
7:11 "all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened" The dating of Gen. 7:11 is very specific in this verse (which implies a historical event) as well as the VERBS which describe the physical catastrophe that occurred on the earth (two Niphal PERFECTS, BDB 131, KB 149 and BDB 834, KB 986). We can see the scale of destruction in Gen. 7:18 and 19 in the Hebrew text. Many of the earth's physical features may have been changed especially in the Near East. There are two sources of the water: fountains of the deep (cf. Gen. 1:9) foodgates (i.e., windows, cf. Ps. 78:23ff; Mal. 3:10) of the sky (i.e., the waters above, Gen. 1:6-8) This is an obvious reversal of what God did in Gen. 1:6-10. Watery chaos returns. SPECIAL TOPIC: WINDOWS OF HEAVEN SPECIAL TOPIC: WATERS
Gênesis 7:13-16
7:13 "On the very same day" This is a Hebrew idiom, "bone of the day." This NOUN root "bone" (BDB 782, #3, KB 869, #4) is used in this sense several times (cf. Gen. 17:23,26; Exod. 12:17,41,51; Lev. 23:14,21,28,29,30; Deut. 32:48; Josh. 5:11; 10:27; Ezek. 24:2; 40:1). 7:14 This includes all the categories of land animals mentioned in Genesis 1, excluding the sea life. 7:16 "and the Lord closed it behind him" YHWH closed the door Himself (see note Gen. 3:8; 8:21; 11:5). The rabbinical Midrash says that He did this in order to keep the wicked out of the ark. They even go so far as to assert that God surrounded the ark with lions and bears to keep the people away. To me, the ark is another act of YHWH's mercy to mankind to continue the Messianic line, even amidst judgment, which would eventually provide redemption (cf. Gen. 3:15). SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD DESCRIBED AS HUMAN SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN
Gênesis 7:17-24
7:19 The language of this verse certainly implies a worldwide flood (cf. Gen. 8:21; 2 Pet. 3:6). But does it? The term "earth" (erets, BDB 75, can mean "land" (cf. Gen. 41:57). It may be a hyperbolic idiom similar to Luke 2:1 and Col. 1:23 (cf. Hard Sayings of the Bible, IVP pp. 112-114). As for the theology of the flood, its extent is irrelevant. There is not a consistent flood deposit even in Mesopotamia much less the whole world! Floods were common in Mesopotamia because of the two large river systems that combine at their mouths. A book that has been very helpful to me in this area is Bernard Ramm, The Christian's View of Science and Scripture, pp. 156-178. SPECIAL TOPIC: LAND, COUNTRY, EARTH "prevailed more and more" NKJV, Peshitta "prevailed exceedingly" "swelled so mightly" "became so deep" "rose higher and higher" "swelled much more" "increased more and more" "prevailing very greatly" There is a series of phrases that express the rising flood waters. Gen. 7:19 ‒ "the water increased" Gen. 7:17 ‒ "it rose above the earth" Gen. 7:18 ‒ "the water prevailed and increased greatly" Gen. 7:19 ‒ "the water prevailed more and more" Gen. 7:19 ‒ "all the high mountaiins everywhere under the heavens were covered" Gen. 7:20 ‒ "the waters prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountinas were covered" Verses 18 and 19 use the ADVERB "greatly" (BDB 547). Verse 19 doubles it for emphasis. The question of the extent of the flood is linked to the dispersion of the animals and mankind from Eden. 7:20 "cubits" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CUBIT 7:22 "the breath of the spirit of life" Apparently the aquatic life was spared, but all other air-breathing life was destroyed. There is a purposeful distinction between animals that have the breath of life and mankind who has the breath of God (Gen. 2:7; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 133). Six humans will be spared and start the new humanity. Originally all humans were "children of Adam," but now all humans will be "children of Noah." SPECIAL TOPIC: NEPHESH