To navigate up to the Genesis index of this site, see index-genesis. This post was originally written in December 2016.
17 And as for myself, I am about to bring the deluge of waters on the earth, to make a ruin of all flesh containing life-breath under the sky. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will go into the ark: you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring some of all living things, of all flesh, to the ark, to keep them alive with you: they are to be male and female. 20 Of the various kinds of flying creatures, and of the various kinds of domestic creatures, of all the various kinds of things that crawl on the ground, they will come to you to keep alive. 21 And as for you, take some of every food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself, and it will serve as food for you and them. 22 And Noah did just as God commanded him. So he did.
And as for myself, I am about to bring. Translating hnh the old-fashioned way, this verse would beging And I, behold, I am about to bring . . .
deluge. With one possible exception, the Hebrew word here, mabbul, is used for Noah’s flood alone. The possible exception is Psalm 29:10, in which God is pictured sitting enthroned above the mabbul. The mabbul in that passage refers either to Noah’s flood, to some other flood, to floods in general, or to the mythic ocean of water above the sky alluded to in Genesis 1:7.
make a ruin. Hebrew šḥt. Perhaps it is better translated destroy, but I am sticking with ruin for continuity with the wordplay around the root šḥt throughout this passage.
all flesh: i.e. all that lives.
covenant. The term covenant, which formally refers to a treaty between two parties, is used in a broader sense in the Bible to describe the relationship between God and his subordinates.
sons’ wives. According to the implication of 1 Peter 3:20, each of Noah’s daughters had a single wife, thus giving a total of eight persons on the ark. However, the Hebrew Bible does not say who or how many the wives were.