15 February 2011

\pub

SCRIPTURES

of the

FAITH ONCE DELIVERED

A lawful and faithful translation

CONTAINING

THE LAW OF MOSHEH, THE PROPHETS, THE

WRITINGS
AND
THE MEMOIRES AND EPISTLES AND REVELATION OF
MESSIAH'S APOSTLES
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES
©2010 Garth Grenache
3 15 February 2011

\pref

Preface
Peace and light to those who read.
The ancient Scriptures of the Bible are the most authentic source for knowing
'the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints' (Jude 3). They contain the message of
‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ , the word of the Mighty One, through which people from all nations of
mankind can be spared from the judgment which is to come, with which the
Mighty One is about to reward this earth. Through this original faith, which was
once delivered to the saints (Jude 3), we can become members of Ya̖ hwa's eternal
kingdom.
Why is the Bible difficult to translate?
The Scriptures of the Bible are foreign to us in at least three ways:
1.They were written in completely different languages to English.
2.They were written through set-apart people whose Way of life was completely
different to that of the highly perverted culture we now live in (Revelation 18:3).
3.They were inspired by a most perfect and set-apart Mighty One (2Timothy
3:16), but for two millenia have been in the hands of fallible men.
Sometimes because of these things, the message of the Scripture becomes
diluted as it is translated, to make it more acceptable to English, to Western minds
or to the traditions of fallible men.
Sources for inaccurate translation
Sometimes translations follow the legacy of their preferred older translations,
rather than translating words, phrases and passages afresh.
Sometimes translations are performed with the agreement of a
multidenominational committee in order to avoid sectarian bias. The downside of
this is that the radical meaning of certain passages is unlikely to be acceptable to
a multidenominational committee, and therefore the translation will be translated
in a way which is palatable to the majority nullifying the truth which Ya̖ hwa gave
to His set-apart people.
It is sometimes claimed by certain religious authorities that a particular
manuscript or text (e.g. the Masoretic Text, the Textus Receptus, the Peshitta, or
even the King James Version) has the original text preserved without change.
Some translations seem to accept a text type on this basis, or because it is
popular, rather than on the findings of scholarly textual analysis.
Translation philosophy
The aim of this translator is to use a reconstructed original text based on the
best manuscript evidence available, to produce a fresh and essentially literal
("word-for-word") translation of the ancient Scriptures into English, which reveals
the message originally inspired by Ya̖ hwa, which is the meaning originally
intended by those who first wrote it.
Where I succeed, praise be to Ya̖ hwa! Where I fail, may Ya̖ hwa protect His
message.
 15 February 2011 4

Translation style
In the opinion of this translator, the goal is to best capture the original meaning,
and to this end the translation may often compromise English grammar.
Punctuation and capitalisation are not features of the original manuscripts; let the
reader discern that these are the work of the translator.
To use gender inclusive language and to suit this translation to the palate of
Western culture are apart from the aim of this translation. It should be kept in
mind that in the source languages the masculine plural form of many words such
as 'brothers' and 'sons' may refer to a mixed group including females as well as
males.
Treatment of names
Words taken to be proper nouns are capitalised, such as names of places and
persons, and titles. Representations of the Tiberian Hebrew or Greek spelling/
pronunciation are used in preference to traditional English spelling.
The letters of the divine Name correspond to YHWH, and are left as "‫"יהוה‬. The
pronunciation of this Name is highly debated. The translator's current guess is
that it is derived from a Simple (Qal) Stative Imperfective verb form of root HW-,
which verb form would have been pronounced yahwayu, meaning "he is". The last
syllable may have been removed from yahwayu to form the Name Ya̖ hwa. This
would avoid forms of inapproriate meaning caused by inflection of the name. (A
nominative case "Yahwayu" would have been inflected as "Yahwaya" in the
Accusative case, which would have been identical in pronunciation to a
subjunctive verb, yahwaya which has the inappropriate meaning "He would be"!)
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ is the plural of a common noun used to refer to mighty ones, whether
human or (supposedly) divine. It is also used as a majestic plural to refer to a
singular supreme being reckoned to be qualitatively great (though quantitatively
just one being) by those who worship that supreme being. ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ is thus used as
a title for ‫ יהוה‬by His worshipers, but ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ was also used by those who
worshiped false gods as a title for individual deities they worshiped. For example,
Dǟg̱ō̖ n is called ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ in Judges 16:23, and Ba̖ ʕa̯ l is called ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ in 1Ki 18:25.
The Hebrew word is typically transliterated as ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ .
ʔa̯ ḏō nǟ̖y is a title related to ʔǟḏō̖ n 'lord/master/ruler', and is used exclusively for
‫יהוה‬. This Hebrew word is transliterated.
The presence/absence of the definite article before such words will be reflected
in the translation by the presence/absence of 'the'.
The translator has noticed that the occurrence of Greek κυριος 'kurios' (lord/
master) without the article often corresponds to the divine Name ‫יהוה‬. Therefore
‫ יהוה‬has often been supplied in place of κυριος in the Greek New Testament, where
the translator reckoned that ‫ יהוה‬was implied.
Other names are generally written with a transliteration of the Tiberian forms
found in the Masoretic text, with the following exceptions:
*If there are variants of a particular name, the variant that was most popular in
the 1st century C.E. is chosen for transliteration, and is used consistently. For
example ‫ ישוע‬is chosen rather than pre-exilic ‫ יהושע‬as it is ‫ ישוע‬that is transliterated
consistently in the Greek and Aramaic Old and New Testaments. It is the short
form that underlies the pronunciation that the 1st century believers used.
*If there is good evidence that a name was vocalised differently in the 1st
century than in the Tiberian tradition, and the 1st century vowels accord better
5 15 February 2011

with the original phonemes of the name, the transliteration is modified to reflect
those more original vowels. For example: Yē šū̖ ʕ rather than Tiberian Yē šū̖ aʕ,
Maryǟ̖m rather than Tiberian Miryǟ̖m.
*Contrary to the Tiberian pointing, Greek transcriptions often indicate the
quality of reduced vowels even after gutterals. This translation does likewise, but
marks the reduced vowel with a breve: a̯ , ɔ̯, ɛ̯... ə̯ denoting a reduced vowel of
dubious quality.
*Greek transcriptions found in the LXX and Hexapla only sometimes mark vowels
where the Tiberian system marks anaptyctic vowels (such as the second vowel in
ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n) and patach furtivum. Anciently these did not exist, but came into being in
order to pronounce the words more easily. When the Greek transcriptions suggest
the pronunciation of such vowels, this translation includes them, but marks them
with the ultra-short vowel marker, e.g. ɛ̯, to indicate that they are not to be
pronounced as full vowels.
Generally and otherwise, i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, o and u correspond to the qualitative
distinctions marked by the Tiberian vowel points. Albeit, a pronunciation slightly
modified from the Tiberian pronunciation is suggested to be more authentic to the
time of the 1st century C.E.:
*Long qɔ̖mɛ̯ṣ (transliterated distinctly as ǟ) as an open, central ä (as in Proto-
Semitic),
*The e (ṣērē̖ ) midway between ä and i (ḥ ır̄ ɛ̖q),
*The o (ḥ o̖lɛ̯m) midway between ä and u (qibbū̖ ṣ/šū rɛ̖q)
*The ɛ (sə̯g̱ō l) as a neutral, central vowel, midway between e and o,
*The a (pa̖ ta̱ ̯ ḥ) midway between ɛ and ä, and
*The ɔ (short qɔ̖mɛ̯ṣ) midway between o (Sephardi pronunciation of short qɔ̖mɛ̯ṣ)
and u (which Babylonian pointing has instead of short qɔ̖mɛ̯ṣ).
Long vowels are not marked in the Tiberian system, but are marked in this
transliteration with macrons: ı̄, ē , ɛ̄, ǟ, ō , ū . Stressed vowels are marked with an
accent underneath, as in Yē šū̖ ʕ.
Special notation
Words used in the translation which do not literally translate words in the source
text are [within square brackets].
The English word 'you' is of ambiguous number but in the source languages it is
not so. Hence this translation uses 'you(s.)' and 'you(pl.)' to distinguish between
singular and plural.
Footnotes relate to the determination of the text, its translation, or its
interpretation.
Parts thought not to originally belong to the text, if retained for completeness,
will be enclosed within [[double square brackets]].
Textual basis
Attention has been given to the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) footnotes,
to attempt to best represent the original text for the Old Testament.
Likewise for the New Testament, the Greek New Testament (GNT) text produced
by NA/UBS is generally used. To understand the original text is the mutual goal of
both the translator and the reader. On account of this, it is highly recommended
that this work be used in conjunction with the BHS and the GNT.
 15 February 2011 6

Verse numbering, divisions and order of books

The system for dividing, ordering and naming the books of the Hebrew Old
Testament text differs from that commonly used in English Bibles. The English
tradition is used to make it easy to refer to.
Likewise, early Greek manuscripts preserve various different orderings of the
New Testament books than that which is found in most modern translations. The
Apostles' general epistles are typically found before Paul's epistles to peoples, and
Paul's epistles to individuals are placed last, just before the Revelation.
As the numbering of chapters and verses is a relatively modern and pragmatic
thing, this translator has used the convention common in English Bibles for easy
reference, not implying that passages or verses are necessarily correctly divided
thereby.
Important note
"test everything; hold fast what is good" (1Thess 5:21)
Man makes no perfect translation. To test and prove -and even to properly
understand- many of the claims of this translation, it is expected that readers will
need to refer to the BHS and GNT, to dictionaries and concordances, even as the
translator has done.
The translator encourages all readers to become 'life-long learners' of the
Ancient Scriptures, even as he is.
A work in progress...
English will change and new manuscript evidence may appear. I expect to be
constantly revising and correcting this translation as required, as long as I live. If
you have evidence to suggest that I have mistranslated anything, please show it to
me. garthgrenache@hotmail.com
7 15 February 2011

\intro

Introduction
Published in 2010, this version of the Bible in the English language was
translated from manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Greek New
Testament ...
 15 February 2011 8

Table of Contents
Genesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Deuteronomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
9 15 February 2011 Genesis 1

1 In (what is)first1 ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 2 has

created the skies3 and the land, 2
and the land has been4 a disarray and
an empty(thing) and darkness [was]
over [the] faces of [the] deep, and the
Spirit5 of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ [was] hovering over
the faces of the waters,6 3 and then7
̖ said, "Let8 light9 become," and
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
then light became. 4 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖

1 On "(what is)first": The definite article ('the') is not used with this Hebrew word here or
usually (e.g. Lev 2:12, Deut 33:21, Is 46:10). This word refers to what is 'first' and needs
no definite article. 2 On "ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ ": This plural form is used as the plural of a common
noun which refers to a mighty one, whether human or (supposedly) divine. The plural
form is also used as a majestic plural to refer to a singular supreme being reckoned to be
qualitatively great (though quantitatively just one being) by those who worship that
supreme being. ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ is thus used as a title for ‫ יהוה‬by His worshipers, but ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ was
also used by those who worshiped false gods as a title for individual deities they
worshiped. For example, Dǟg̱ō̖ n is called ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ in Judges 16:23, and Ba̖ ʕa̯ l is called
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ in 1Ki 18:25. This usage demonstrates that it is not on account of a (post-
apostolic) 'trinity' concept that a majestic plural is used as a title for the Creator. See
1Corinthians 8:6. 3 On "the skies": The secondary meanings for English 'heaven' are
beyond the semantic realm of the Hebrew word for 'skies', ‫שמים‬. This Hebrew word has the
simple meaning of 'sky' in the broadest sense; 'the skies and the land' encompass the
Universe. The same word, 'skies', is to refer to the realm of the celestial beings, or of the
stars, or of the clouds, or of the birds: even hanging from a tree is said to be 'between the
skies and the land'! (2Sam 18:9). ‫ שמים‬always occurs in a form identical to the Hebrew
dual form, but is not dual in meaning. Hence in Greek translation it becomes either
singular ουρανος or plural ουρανοι. This translation uses 'skies' for ‫שמים‬, to refer non-
specifically to all the space above the land or any region thereof. 4 On "the land has
been":The Hebrew text does not imply 'became', as some translations render it.
Throughout this narrative, and the many other narrative sequences of the Hebrew
Scriptures, sequential events are specially marked with the consecutive preterite form of
the verb. For example the first word of the next verse is ‫ויאמר‬, a consecutive preterite,
which marks that 'and he said' is a sequential event in the narrative. The land's being
chaotic is not so marked. Therefore it is not the goal of this text to teach that the land
'became' disordered after it was created. Rather this verse implies that the world is
fundamentally a chaotic mess without ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 's commandments to bring order to it. This
verse does not describe events, but rather sets the scene for the events that follow. Watch
what order is brought out of disorder as world arranges itself in response to the Master's
commandments! 5 On "and the Spirit": If this work were authored in English, it would
probably read 'but' here. Hebrew does not often use a 'but' word when adding sentences
together. Throughout this translation, the reader may judge from the context of an 'and',
whether or not a statement contrasts with the previous one. 6 On "faces of the waters":
The Hebrew word for 'water'/'waters', like that for 'sky'/'skies', is locked in dual form. To
expect it to change form to represent singular, dual or plural meanings is not reasonable.
Similarly, 'faces' is locked in plural form. 7 On "and then": The sequential force of the
consecutive preterite will often be rendered 'and then' throughout this tranlsation. The
consecutive preterite marks a temporally and/or logically sequential event. 8 On "let":
The Hebrew jussive marks that this is a commandment that light should become. It is the
imperative force of commandments that English renders with 'let'. 9 On "light": Bringing
light out of darkness is ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ 's first step in bringing form and order to the empty
universe. Darkness is a non-entity: the absence of the light which ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ gives. When He
causes that light to be withdrawn, He "creates darkness" (Is 45:7), physically or spiritually.
Genesis 1 15 February 2011 10

saw the light as good10: and then sub(jacent) to the compression and
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ caused separation between11 between the waters which [were] from
the light and the darkness. 5 And then12 over the compression. And then
̖ called the light 'day'13, and the
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ saw [it] as good20. 8 And then
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
darkness He has called 'night'14. And ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ called the compression 'skies'.
then evening became and then morning And then evening became and then
morning became: a second day[of
became: one day15[of creating has
creating has passed and a new day has
passed and a new day has begun].
6 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
begun].
̖ said, "Let a 9 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
16
̖ said, "Let the
compression become in the midst of waters from sub(jacent) the skies be
the waters, and let it become causing
gathered together to one gathering21
separation between waters for the
and the dry[land] be seen," and so it
waters," and so it became17. 7 And then became. And then the waters from sub
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ effectuated18 the compression, (jacent) the skies were gathered to
and then He19 caused separation their gathering and so the dry[land]
between the waters which [were] from was seen.22 10 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ called
10 On "ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ said...[became]...ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ saw... as good": This important pattern is
emphasized by its repetition in this first passage of the Scripture. The pattern has a
simple meaning: ‫ יהוה‬regards the fulfilment of His command to be good. Fulfilling His
word is His goal for His creation. It is no different when it comes to His creatures which
have volition (will), particularly humans: if we will be and do what He has commanded for
humans in the Scriptures, He will regard this as good. The Master Yē šū̖ ʕ is the Word of
‫ יהוה‬and He fulfills it (Mt 4:17) and causes His faithful followers to do likewise (Mt 5:19,
Ro 2:14, 1Jo 2:6, Ga 2:20, Col 1:27). 11 On 'between': To convey the sense of being
between two things, Hebrew uses ‫ בין‬before each of the things. English does not use
'between' in this way. 12 On "and then": The consecutive preterites here mark
chronological events. ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ said, and then it became, and then He saw it as good, and
then He separated it, and then he called it 'day', and then evening happened and then
morning happened. 13 On "called the light 'day'": Note that it is the light that ‫ יהוה‬called
'day': Scripturally 'day' is daytime period, not a 24-hour period. Nevertheless, the set
apart times of ‫ יהוה‬are kept from the dark period before the light period (Lev 23:32); a
night and then a day is celebrated. 14 On "He has called 'night'": The naming of the
darkness is not a consecutive preterite. This infers that the darkness (which already
existed, see v2) was already was called 'night' before the light was called 'day', or at least
that the naming of the darkness is not marked as consecutive to the naming of the light.
15 On "one day": It is not as the KJV reads that this evening and this morning 'were' one
day. Evening ‫ ערב‬is the last period of the day, and is thus a light period: evening concludes
a day with sunset; then night begins. Morning ‫ בקר‬is the first period of a new day,
commencing with sunrise. Therefore 'one day', 'a second day', 'a third day'... should be
considered a count of the daytimes in which ‫ יהוה‬created. Since the creation of light/day,
‫ יהוה‬created during daytime. Which day begins in this verse? The 'morning' here is of the
second day. 16 On "compression": The Hebrew noun is related to a verb which means to
beat/hammer/stamp/flatten out: a flattened out thing. 17 On "And so it became.": The
BHS suggests that this sentence belongs here, as in the Greek text, rather than at the end
of verse 7. Throughout this chapter this sentence is positioned after each creative
commandment of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ . 18 On "effectuated": The Hebrew word means to do or make
something; hence this translation. 19 On "He": Or "it", i.e. the compression. 20 On "And
then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ saw [it] as good.": The BHS suggests that this sentence belongs here, which
fits the pattern found throughout the chapter. 21 On "one gathering": So reads the Greek
text; Masoretic text: "one place". 22 On "And then the waters...": These words are
preserved in the Greek text, but not in the Masoretic text.
11 15 February 2011 Genesis 1

the dry[land] 'land', and the gathering became. 16 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖
of the waters He has called 'seas': and effectuated the two of the great lights 27
then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ regarded [it], because [it -the great light for the dominion of the
was] good. 11 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ said, day, and the small light for the
"Let the land cause sprouting of dominion of the night- and the stars. 17
shootkind23 [and] vegetation causing And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ gave them in the
sowing of seed, [and] the fruit treekind compression of the skies for causing
effectuating fruit24 which [has] its seed light over the land, 18 and for ruling in
in it, over the land," and so it became. 12 the day and in the night, and for
And then the land brought out causing separation between the light
shootkind, [and] vegetation causing and the darkness: and then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖
sowing of seed for its25 kind, and the saw [it] as good. 19 And then evening
treekind effectuating fruit which [has] became and then morning became: a
its seed in it, for its kind: and then fourth day[of creating has passed and a
̖ saw [it] as good. 13 And then
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m new day has begun].
evening became and then morning 20 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ said, "Let the
became: a third day[of creating has waters swarm a swarmerkind of
passed and a new day has begun]. breatherkind28 of livingkind, and
14 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ said, "Let26 lights 29
flapperkind shall flap over the land
in the compression of the skies become, over the faces of the compression of
to cause separation between the day the skies," and so it became30. 21 And
and the night; and they shall be for ̖ created the big reptiles31,
then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
signs, and for appointments, and for and all the breatherkind of the
days, and years, 15 and they shall be for livingkind quietly-moving which the
lights in the compression of the skies to waters swarmed for their kind, and all
cause light over the land," and so it flapperkind of wing for its kind: and
23 On "-kind": Many Hebrew nouns can be used as singular or as collective nouns (like
the English word 'fish'). When used collectively this translation prefers using a -kind suffix
rather than translating them as grammatical plurals. 24 On "fruit": "for its kind" has
been omitted from this, as BHS suggests it was added from the following verse.
25 On "its": Hebrew has a masculine and feminine noun system, hence KJV's 'his'. English
uses 'its' for impersonal things. 26 On "let...become": these two English words translate
one Hebrew jussive verb, a commandment that the lights should become. 27 On "lights":
The sun produces light and the moon reflects light, but as light comes to the earth from
both, they are both called "lights". 28 On "breatherkind": The Hebrew word here ‫ נפש‬is
very versatile but at its root it is about breath. Breathing maintains life and consciousness
in our bodies, and hence the word is more traditionally translated 'soul' or 'psyche'. I have
retained a more etymological approach, using 'breather' to diverge from the many false
beliefs about 'soul'. For example, in Biblical usage rarely uses this word to refer to a part
of a person: usually the whole living person is meant: the one who breathes, the breather.
Breatherkind is used here as the word is here used as a collective noun. 29 On
"flapperkind": the Hebrew word for 'bird' ‫עוף‬, probably once "ʕawp-", may be
onomatopoetic (its sound imitating the flap of wings). It thus refers to flapping creatures
such as bats (Lev 11:19), which are not usually classified as 'birds'. 30 On "And so it
became.": These words are preserved here by the Greek text, but not by the Masoretic
Text. 31 On "big reptiles": Often translated 'dragons' elsewhere in the Bible, a tannı̄n ̖ is
not a mythical beast, but the very thing that ʔahrō̖ n's staff became in Exodus 7:10, and
Psalm 91:13 indicates that tannînîm are snakelike. But in this verse 'big' tannı̄nım̄ are
specified. To avoid the mythical nuance of 'dragon' in this age when big reptiles are well
proven to have existed, I have translated this word 'reptile', which -unlike 'snake'- also
allows the possibility for a tannı̄n̖ to have 'feet' (Ezekiel 32:2).
Genesis 1 15 February 2011 12

then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ saw [it] as good. 22 And and like our semblance: and let them
then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ goodspoke them32, dominate in the fishkind of the sea, and
saying, "(Re)produce and increase, and in the flapperkind of the skies, and in
fill the waters in the seas! And the the large-quadrupedkind, and in all the
flapperkind, let it increase in the land." livingkind of37 the land, and in all the
23 And then evening became and then quiet-moverkind quietly-moving over
morning became: a fifth day[of creating the land."
27
has passed and a new day has begun].
24 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ said, "Let the And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ created the ʔǟḏǟ̖m
land bring out breatherkind of ~~ in His silhouette38:
livingkind for its kind, large- ~ in [the] silhouette of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖
quadrupedkind, and quiet-moverkind, ~~ He created him39;
and the paired-livingkind of the land33 male and female
for its kind," and so it became. 25 And ~ He created them.
28 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ goodspoke them,
then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ effectuated the livingkind
of the land for its kind, and large- and then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ said to them, "(Re)
quadrupedkind for its kind, and all the produce and increase, and fill the land,
quiet-moverkind of the ground for its and tread it down! And dominate in the
kind: and then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ saw [it] as good. fishkind of the sea, and in the
26 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ said, "Let's34 flapperkind of the skies, and in the
effectuate ʔǟḏǟ̖m35 in our silhouette36 large-quadrupedkind40, and in all the

32 On "goodspoke them": Two categories of Hebrew and Greek words have traditionally
been mistranslated with an English word which literally meant "to mark with blood of
(pagan) sacrifice". One category has here been translated with forms of 'goodspeak', as
those Hebrew and Greek words mean to speak good of or for someone. The other
category has been translated 'bliss-' in this work because the Hebrew and Greek words
means to be happy because ‫ יהוה‬has favoured them in some way. 33 On "and the paired-
livingkind of the land": This phrase translates ‫ וחיתו־ארץ‬which contains one of the several
Biblical occurrences of the unusual construct form ‫ חיתו‬which I've translated "paired-
livingkind" as it may have etymologically been derived from a archaic nominative dual
construct form *ḥ ayyatā > *ḥ ayyə̯ṯō > ḥ ayə̯ṯō. If this is the origin of this peculiar form, it
must have superseded the accusative and genitive forms (which ended in -ay instead of -
ā ), to be here used in the accusative case, and elsewhere in the genitive case (Ps 79:11).
34 On "let's": ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ is not alone in watching what He is bringing about. The sons of
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ (heavenly beings, see Job 38:7) are witnesses with Him, who, like mankind are in
His silhouette and like Him in semblance. 35 On "ʔǟḏǟ̖m": This Hebrew word is the name
of the first man, and also can refer to humankind or a human. I have left it untranslated:
the reader can determine its various meanings by its various contexts. 36 On
"silhouette": This Hebrew word is related to others 'shadow'. The implication is that
ʔǟḏǟ̖m has an appearance which is like that of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ . The word is more often used of
the statues of false ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ . Should man, who is a silhouette of the true ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ bow
himself down to manmade silhouettes of false ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ ? 37 On "the livingkind of": This is
absent from the Masoretic Text, but present in the Syriac Old Testament, and in verses 24
and 25. 38 On "in His silhouette": The Greek Septuagint lacks these words, which do not
seem necessary considering what follows. 39 On "in the silhouette of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ He created
him": The first man was created in the silhouette of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ . The first woman was created
in the silhouette of the first man. Thus all humankind is in the silhouette of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ , both
male and female. Yet there is an order in creation and a purpose reflected by that order,
as brought out by verses such as 1Corinthians 11:7-10 and 1Timothy 2:13. 40 On "and in
the quadrupedkind": These words are evidenced in the Greek and Syriac versions, as in
verse 26, but have apparently dropped from the Masoretic Text.
13 15 February 2011 Genesis 1,2

livingkind quietly-moving over the which He has effectuated and see!

land!" 29 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ said, "See!41
I have given for you(pl.) all vegetation
sowing seed which [is] over [the] faces
of all the land, and all the treekind
which [has] in it [the] fruit of treekind
sowing seed: for you(pl.) it shall be for
food 30 and for all the livingkind of the
land, and for all the flapperkind of the
skies, and for all quietly-moving over
the land which [has] in it breather of
livingkind; I have given42 all greenness
of vegetation for food43." And so it
became. 31 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ saw all
Greatly good! And then evening
became and then morning became: a
sixth day44[of creating has passed and
a new day has begun].
2 And so they were finished (up)1 -the
skies and the land- and all their
formation2. 2 And so ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ finished
3
(up) in the sixth day His work which
He has effectuated. And so He
sabbatized4 in the seventh day from all
His work which He has effectuated. 3
And so ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ goodspoke the seventh

41 On "See!": The word is used to grasp attention and focus it on something or an action,
in this case ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ 's providence of food. 42 On "I have given": BHS suggests this verb
be repeated here; even without its repetition, it is the implied verb. 43 On "all greenness
of vegetation for food": Note that this rendering aligns with the Hebrew text in that it
does not create a false dichotomy: tree fruit is not just for humans, and green vegetation
is not just for animals. In fact Genesis 9:3 indicates that "greenness of vegetation" is what
was given to humans to eat. So then "greenness of vegetation" means plantlife -the source
of all vegetables, fruits, grains- and this statement is by no means specifying a
subcategory of food specifically for animals. Rather, this final statement encapsulates all
that precedes it in these two verses: that green plantlife was given for food. Modern
science confirms that it is actually the greenness in vegetation (the chlorophyll pigments)
that enables plants to store energy from the sun as food energy (photosynthesis) which
can then be utilised by animals and humans which consume the plants. For this reason
plants are called autotrophic producers, whereas animals and humans are called
heterotrophic consumers. 44 On "sixth day": This account is not complete until after the
"seventh day" is narrated. The first verses of chapter 2 belong at the end of the account of
chapter 1 and reveal the reason behind the emphasis given to the six days of creation in
this account (see also Exodus 20:11). 1 On "And so they were finished (up)": These last
three verses of the first creation narrative summarise the preceeding narrative, and
indicate the purpose of the six-day form of the narrative: to show how the seventh day
came to be set-apart, special from all other days. The consecutive preterites in these
verses are used to mark logical consequence, not a temporal sequence as in the
preceding verses. Note that ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ had already finished is work before the end of the
sixth day in the previous verse. This is why the translation of the consecutive preterites is
here "And so" instead of "And then".̖ 2 On "formation": This Hebrew word often refers to
an army, but not always in the military sense (as this verse evidences). 3 On "sixth": The
Samaritan, Greek and Syriac texts agree on "sixth", whereas the Masoretic Text has
"seventh". ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ is the perfect example we are to imitate: surely He finished up His
work on the sixth day and was not still finishing it on the seventh! Alternatively, if
"seventh" is original, "finished" here should not be taken to imply that He "finished" by
doing the last works, but rather that He chose not to work on the seventh day thereby
ending the work of creation. 4 On "And so He sabbatized": This is the first occurrence of
the root for Šabbǟ̖t ̱ in the Scriptures, in the verb ‫וישבת‬. The verb implies desisting/ceasing,
as one desists from work to observe Šabbǟ̖t.̱
Genesis 2 15 February 2011 14

day, and so He set it apart5, as in it He lives13; and the ʔǟḏǟ̖m became for a
has rested from all His work which breather of livingkind.
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ has created for effectuating. 8 And then ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ planted a
4 These [are] the generations6 of the 14 15
garden in ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n from[the]east16.
skies and the land in their being And then He set there the ʔǟḏǟ̖m which
created: In the day7 of 8‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ 's He has handcrafted. 9 And then ‫יהוה‬
effectuating skies and land , 9 5 and ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ caused to outsprout from the
[when] all the shrubkind of the field ground all treekind desireable for
before it was(being) in the land, and all appearance and good for food, and the
the vegetation of the field before it was tree of the lives17 in the midst of the
outsprouting10, as ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ has not garden, and the tree of the knowing
caused rain over the land, and [there] goodness and badness18. 10 And a
wasn't ʔǟḏǟ̖m for serving the ground, 6 stream19 [was] going out from ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n
and a vapour was ascending from the for causing the garden to drink; and
land and then it was causing all the from there it was separating, and then
faces of the ground to drink, 7 and then becoming20 for four heads. 11 The
‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ handcrafted11 the ʔǟḏǟ̖m: name of the one [is] Pı̄šō̖ n21: that [is]
loam from the ground. And then He the (one) turning around all the land of
blew in his inhalers12 the breather of
5 On "He set it apart": The root ‫ קדש‬refers to something which is specially ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 's, of His
nature or set apart for His purpose. It may also refer to things which are special to a false
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ , and thus detestable to the true ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ . Here ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ is choosing the seventh
day, and setting it apart from all other days as a day which is special to Him. What is
special in His eyes is (to be) special in the eyes of His people (see Exodus 20:8).
6 On "These [are] the generations": This phrase typically begins genealogical accounts
(e.g. Gen 6:9; Gen 11:10; Gen 11:27), and here indicates the beginning of a second
account of the creation. The second account focuses on other details of the creation: the
first man and his woman, and their first sin, by which death came to all humankind (Rom
5:12). 7 On "In the day": Arguably, the sixth day (see verse 7). 8 On "‫"יהוה‬: This is the
revealed personal Name of our Creator, spelled in Hebrew letters. See Exodus 3:15 and
the note in the Preface. 9 On "skies and land": So reads the Greek and the Samaritan
versions; Masoretic text: "land and skies". 10 On "before it was (being)... outsprouting":
The word 'outsprouting' gives the intended sense of the phrase "before it was (being)": it
is not that the organisms did not yet exist in the ground, but rather that they were not yet
in the mature form of shrubs. 11 On "handcrafted": This verb refers to the shaping action
of a potter. Biblical language is full of beautiful, concrete words, which can nevertheless
be used in figurative ways (see Psalm 74:17). 12 On "inhalers": Paired inhalers: nostrils.
13 On "lives": The Hebrew abstract noun corresponding to English 'life' is locked in
plural, a plurale tantum. 14 On "garden": An enclosure for plants. 15 On "ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n": The
Greek spelling εδεμ in the LXX and Hexapla evidences that the first vowel was short.
ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n means a 'delight'. 16 On "from[the]east": This word means the former position (of
the sun) in the day. 17 On "the tree of the lives": ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 's Wisdom is said to be such a
tree (Proverbs 3:18). 18 On "goodness and badness": The two Hebrew words are this
broad in meaning. They refer to what is morally good and bad, but also to what is
pleasant and unpleasant, and so on. 19 On "stream": No "rain" yet (verse 5), but yet a
"stream". Revelation 22:1 may indicate the source of this life-giving stream. 20 On "and
then becoming": The verb ‫ והיה‬begins the phrase, and is thus consecutive to the
preceeding verb "separating" and carries its tense. Such forms are sometimes called
"converted perfects" because they look like the perfect form, but are used for consecutive
events in an imperfect tense narrative. 21 On "Pı̄šō̖ n": This stream's name may mean
something like "Disperser".
15 15 February 2011 Genesis 2

the Ḥ a̯ wı̄lǟ̖22 [in] which there [is] the
gold. 12 And the gold of that land [is]
good. There [is] the bdellium23 and the
stone of the beryl24. 13 And the name of
the second stream [is] Gē ḥō̖n25: that
[is] the (one) turning around all the
land of Kū̖ š26. 14 And the name of the
third stream [is] Ḥ iddɛ̖qɛ̯l27: that [is]
the (one) going east of ʔaššū̖ r28. And
the fourth stream: that [is] Pə̯rǟ̖t29
̱ .
15 And so ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ took the ʔǟḏǟ̖m,
and He caused him to rest in the
garden of ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n for serving it and for
looking(after) it. 16 And then ‫יהוה‬
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ (laid)command over the ʔǟḏǟ̖m,
saying, "From all the treekind of the
garden, (as) eating you(s.) eat30, 17 and
from the tree of the knowing goodness
and badness, you(s.) shall not eat from
it, as in the day of your(s.) eating from
it, (as) dying you(s.) die31."
18 And then ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ said, "Not
good (is) the ʔǟḏǟ̖m's being only
himself: I effectuate for him a helper
like his complement32." 19 And then ‫יהוה‬
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ handcrafted (again) from the
ground all the livingkind of the field,
and all the flapperkind of the skies, and
then He caused [them] to come to the
ʔǟḏǟ̖m for seeing what he calls for it:
and all which the ʔǟḏǟ̖m calls for it -a
breather of livingkind33- that is it's
name. 20 And so the ʔǟḏǟ̖m called
names for all the large-quadrupedkind,
and for all the flapperkind of the skies,
and for all the livingkind of the field,
and for the ʔǟḏǟ̖m was not found a
helper like his complement. 21 And then
‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ caused a sloom to fall over
the ʔǟḏǟ̖m: and so he fell asleep. And

22 On "the Ḥ a̯ wı̄lǟ̖": This place name has the letters of the root ḥ wl, which speaks of
'twisting around'. The name may originate from "the twisting" of the Pı̄šō̖ n stream around
this place. 23 On "the bdellium": Does ‫ בדלח‬to refer to bdellium resin, or perhaps to
pearls? In the other occurrence (Num 11:7) the ‫ מן‬from the skies is likened to ‫ בדלח‬in
appearance. 24 On "the stone of the beryl": A precious stone of some kind may be
indicated by ‫אבן השהם‬. The Aramaic Peshitta translates it as ‫ ברולא‬beryl here and in Exodus
28:20. 25 On "Gē ḥō̖n": The Septuagint has γηων, rather than γιων which would better
align with Tiberian Gı̄ḥō̖n. The ē may be because of the pronunciation of the guttural ḥ
lowering the preceding vowel. On the other hand, Arabic jayḥ ā̖nu is used for large rivers,
and ay regularly shifts to ē in Hebrew, as also stressed ā̖ to ō̖ . The name of this stream
may mean something like "burster". 26 On "Kū̖ š": Kū̖ š was a ancient, black, African
kingdom around Sudan and the south of Egypt. Their ancestor was Kū̖ š son of Ḥ ǟ̖m, son of
Nō̖ ɛ̯ḥ who was saved through the deluge. 27 On "Ḥ iddɛ̖qɛ̯l": This name may mean "rapid"
or "swift". In the Septuagint it is translated Τιγρις, Tigris. 28 On "ʔaššū̖ r": Assyria.
29 On "Pə̯rǟ̖t"̱ : This stream's name may mean 'fruitful'. In the Septuagint it is Ευφρατης,
Euphrates. 30 On "(as) eating you(s.) eat": The Hebrew 'Infinitive Absolute' often has an
adverbial function, and is often used with a verb of the same root to emphasize verbal
action, as here. 31 On "(as) dying you(s.) die": This adverbial treatment of the 'Infinitive
Absolute' reveals what really happened when our ancestors ate from that tree: they began
to die in a dying manner, as do we each day in this corrupted mortal body. 32 On "a
helper like his complement": Woman was created from the man and for the man, as Paul
taught (1Corinthians 11:8-9). Woman is man's helper, and is fashioned to be suitable for
him, his complement which fits him. 33 On "a breather of livingkind": The BHS suggests
these words are an added explanation specifying what the man was naming.
Genesis 2 15 February 2011 16

then He took one of his side(bone)s34. ~~ and flesh from my flesh:

And then He closed-up the flesh (as) sub
(stitute for) it. 22 And then ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ ~~ [a name] 'Woman'36 is called,
built the side(bone) -which He has
taken from the ʔǟḏǟ̖m- for a woman35.
And then He caused her to come to the
ʔǟḏǟ̖m. 23 And then the ʔǟḏǟ̖m said,
"This(one) [is] the instant:
~ bone from my bones,
for this(one)
~ as from her man37
~~ this(one) has been taken."
24 On[account of this] so (a) man
loosens(from) his father and his mother,
and then he adheres in his woman38,
and so the two of them39 become for

34 On "He took one of his side(bone)s": Ribs. Do ʔǟḏǟ̖m's sons have one less rib than his
daughters? No: both male and female descendants of ʔǟḏǟ̖m have twelve pairs of ribs. If
ʔǟḏǟ̖m had lost his arms, would his children be born without arms? Of course not! The
Scripture does not say that ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ removed or altered any of ʔǟḏǟ̖m's DNA, so we
would not expect that ʔǟḏǟ̖m's descendants would be affected by his loss of a rib.
Likewise the Scripture does not say that ʔǟḏǟ̖m was once both male and female, or that
his feminine nature was taken away from him and formed into a woman. This is a modern
and false teaching, and is as ludicrous as saying that the heavenly Father lost His Wisdom
or was in any way diminished when He spoke forth His Word. Rather ʔǟḏǟ̖m had within
him, before and after losing the rib, the creational potential of all that is male and all that
is female. The wonderful feminine nature of a woman is what manifests in the absence of
that which is specifically (and likewise, wonderfully) male. Like ʔǟḏǟ̖m, his sons today
have within them all that is needed to make a male or a female: the male human
possesses both X and Y sex chromosomes. The converse is not true: A female human has
only X sex chromosomes. It is impossible to make a male human from a female human's
chromosomes. Therefore modern genetics confirms that a woman can be fashioned from
the genes of a man, but not vice versa. 35 On "for a woman": To be a woman/wife. The
word for 'woman' is the same as for 'wife', throughout Scripture. 36 On 'Woman': ʔɛššǟ̖ in
Origen's Hexapla; Masoretic Text evidences a further attenuation of the first vowel: ʔiššǟ̖.
37 On "from her man": From ʔı̄šǟ̖h = her man(husband). So reads the Samaritan
Pentateuch, Targum Onqelos and the Septuagint: The Masoretic text reads ʔı̄š̖ "(a) man".
The original pronunciation of 'man' and 'woman' is unknown, but as in English, the two
words have a similar pronunciation in Hebrew and several other Semitic languages. It
could be that the original difference was a š in 'man' (in ʔanš- perhaps), and a softer θ in
'woman' (in ʔanθ- perhaps). 38 On "he adheres in his woman": It is quite uncreational
that a man should tear away from his woman with whom he has become one flesh.
39 On "the two of them": So reads the Septuagint, the Syriac and the Vulgate, also the
Samaritan versions, and several Targums (Neofiti, Pseudo-Jonathan, Genizah Targum
Fragment). The words are also present in the Master's quotation of the passage in
Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:8, and also Paul's in 1Co 6:16 and Eph 5:31. The Masoretic
Text does not have these words: Why? Was there something wrong in the eyes of scribes
in this statement that "two of them" become "one flesh"? Perhaps their acceptance of
their ancient Hebrew customs of polygyny, or of divorce and remarriage? But such things
‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ neither commanded nor approved of: from the beginning they have not been
so (Matthew 19:8), but marriage has been for just "the two of them".
17 15 February 2011 Genesis 2,3

one flesh. 25 And so40 the two of them it, lest you(pl.) die.'" 4 And then the
were uncovered41, the ʔǟḏǟ̖m and his snake said to the woman, "You(pl.) will
woman, and they were not ashamed of not (as) dying die 5 -as ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ (is)
themselves42... knowing- as in the day of your(pl.)

3 ...and the snake has been
circumspect1 more than all the
livingkind of the field which ‫יהוה‬
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ has effectuated! And then he
said to the woman, "Even as ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ woman saw as good the tree for food,
2
has said , you(pl.) shall not eat from all
the treekind of the garden." 2 And then
the woman said to the snake, "From the
fruit of the treekind of the garden we
eat, 3 and from the fruit of the tree
which (is) in the midst of the garden
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ has said, 'You(pl.) shall not eat
from it, and you(pl.) shall not touch in
eating from it your(pl.) eyes will then
become open, and then you(pl.) will
become like the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 3: knowers of
goodness and badness." 6 And then the
and as a longing it (was) for the eyes,
and the tree was desirable for causing
insight. And then she took from its
fruit. And then she ate. And then she
gave also for her man with her4. And
then they ate. 7 And then the eyes of
the two of them were opened, and they
then knew them(selves) as uncovered.
And then they sewed together leaves of

40 On "And so": The consecutive preterite typically marks a verb which is temporally and/
or logically consequent. If temporal consequence is meant, it would mean that the two
became naked after the ʔǟḏǟ̖m's declaration about his woman in verse 23. I have taken
the verb as logically consequent, which thus implies that their Creator left them naked
because they were to adhere to each other as described in verse 24: their nakedness
facilitated this. Nakedness facilitates sexual arousal, and facilitating sexual arousal is
totally appropriate in the context of a valid marriage such as this one. But it is totally
inappropriate to make a display of nakedness out of this context. Some forms of public art
-ancient, modern and even religious- can only be justified by refusing this simple truth
that nakedness facilitates sexual arousal. 41 On "uncovered": There is a wordplay (pun)
between "uncovered" ʕa̯ rummı̄m ̖ in this verse, and "circumspect" ʕǟrū̖ m in the next,
linking the two verses. 42 On "they were not ashamed of themselves": Or of each other.
This translates the reflexive/reciprocal nature of the hiṯpaʕʕel stem. Here the beauty of
the first state of human sexuality is shown. In this proper context of valid, monogamous
marriage, sex is wonderful and nothing to be ashamed of. But outside of the proper
context, so much harm has been done outside the Creators's plan, that sex has become a
shameful thing for many. 1 On "circumspect": The ʔǟḏǟ̖m and his woman were ʕa̯ rummı̄m ̖
(uncovered) and the snake was ʕǟrū̖ m (circumspect) more than all...! And whilst they
were ʕa̯ rummı̄m̖ without being ashamed, the ʕǟrū̖ m snake ought to have been ashamed
for the way he used his craftiness here. 2 On "Even as ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ has said": If it is so to be
read, it seems the first in the Scripture to exaggerate a command of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ was the
snake. 3 On "the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ ": This may be interpreted as singular or plural here. In the
plural sense, ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ can refer to mighty beings (the angels according to the Greek
translation of Psalm 8:5, who are also called 'sons of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ ' in Job 1:6 & 2:1 and Genesis
6:2,4) who apparently were created with a knowledge of goodness and badness, perhaps
that they might see and commend the work of ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ (see Job 38:7). 4 On "her man
with her": Her man was with her during this transgression of ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 's command and
did not keep her from it! What a failure of leadership and of taking responsibility for the
woman that ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ had 'brought to him' (2:22)! Did he wrongly assume that he
would not be held responsible for her and that by blaming her for her own actions he
would thereby justify himself, even if he follows her example? (verse 12) Likewise his first
son makes himself not to know his responsibility for his younger brother (4:9).
Genesis 3 15 February 2011 18

a fig(tree). And so they effectuated for
them(selves) bindings5.
8 And then they heard the sound6 of
‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ going(to and fro) in the
garden for the spirit of the day: and
then the ʔǟḏǟ̖m hid himself, and his
woman, from the faces7 of ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
in the midst of the treekind of the
garden. 9 And then ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ called
to ʔǟḏǟ̖m. And then He said for him,
"Where [are] you(s.)?" 10 And then he
said, "Your(s.) sound I heard in the
garden. And then I feared, as naked
[am] I: and then I hid (myself)." 11 And
then He said, "Who (made)manifest for
you(s.) as naked you(rself)(s.)? Is it that
from the tree (of) which I (laid) you
command for not (to) eat from it, you
(s.) have eaten?" 12 And then the ʔǟḏǟ̖m
said, "The woman which you(s.) gave to
me: she gave for me from the tree, and
then I ate." 13 And then ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
said for the woman, "What [is] this you
(s.) have effectuated?" And then the
woman said, "The snake (caused) me
delusion, and then I ate." 14 And then
‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ said to the snake,
"As you(s.) have effectuated this,
̖ accursed you(s.) [are] from all the large-
quadrupedkind, and8 from all the
livingkind of the field.
Over your(s.) belly you(s.) shall go,
and loam you(s.) shall eat all the days
of your(s.) lives.
15 And hostility I set between you(s.)
and the woman, and between your(s.)
seed and her seed:
it shall (be on)lookout(for) you(s.), (a)
head, and you(s.) shall (be on)lookout
(for) him, (a) heel."
16 And to the woman9 He (has) said,
"As causing(to)increase I cause(to)
increase your(s.) travail and your(s.)
conception: in travail you(s.) shall birth
̖
sons,

5 On "bindings": Such belt-like garments with hanging pieces barely covering the
reproductive organs are -in some primitive cultures- all the clothing that man sees as
necessary. But ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ fits our ancestors with coverings which are sufficient in His
eyes (verse 21). He has thereby taught mankind what is appropriate for covering
nakedness. 6 On "sound": The Hebrew word ‫ קֹול‬often implies 'voice', but is used for a
broader set of meanings: voice, noise, sound. I've chosen 'sound' as a consistent
translation, but obviously the sound of a person will usually be his voice! 7 On "faces":
This is another plurale tantum with a singular meaning. I have translated it according to
its form, but the reader should note from its usage throughout this translation that 'faces'
is the regular Hebrew way of saying 'surface' or 'face' or 'presence', and by no means
implies more than one face. 8 On "from all the large-quadrupedkind, and": The BHS
suggests that these words were perhaps an addition. The versions include them. Is it
because a snake is not a quadruped that they thought the words inappropriate? The snake
need not have been a large-quadruped to become more accursed than all large-
quadrupedkind. Then again, perhaps it once did go on four legs? There seems to be
consensus amongst scientists that they once did have four legs, like (most) lizards still do.
9 On "And to the woman": "And" is lacking from the Masoretic text, but not from the
Samaritan, the Septuagint or the Vulgate.
19 15 February 2011 Genesis 3

and to you(s.) (is) it's overflow, and you as-far-as [the time of] your(s.)
(s.) shall dominate in it10." returning to the ground; as from it you
17 And for the ʔǟḏǟ̖m11 He (has) (s.) were taken:
said12, as loam you(s.) [are], and to loam you
"As you(s.) have listened for the sound (s.) return."
20 And then the ʔǟḏǟ̖m called the
of your(s.) woman, and then you(s.) ate
from the tree (of) which I (laid) you(s.) name of his woman Ḥ awwǟ̖ʰ, as she
command, saying, 'You(s.) shall not eat was mother of every(one) living. 21 And
from it,': then ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ made -for the ʔǟḏǟ̖m
accursed [is] the ground because of and for his woman- coverings of skin.
you(s.). And then He caused them to be
In travail shall you(s.) shall serve it13 clothed.14
all the days of your(s.) lives. 22 And then ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ said, "See!
18 And thornkind and thistlekind it The ʔǟḏǟ̖m has become as one from us,
shall cause to outsprout for you(s.), and for knowing goodness and badness.
then you(s.) shall eat the vegetation of And now, lest he sends his hand, and
the field. then he takes also from the tree of the
19 In the sweat of your(s.) inhalers you lives, and then he eats, and then he
(s.) shall eat bread,
10 On "and to you(s.) (is) it's overflow, and you(s.) shall dominate in it": In the midst of
overflowing travail, the woman is still to have success. This emendation to the text is
suggested by the BHS as probably original: an explanation of the preceding words.
Almost identical words are found in Genesis 4:7 where another is told to dominate in the
midst of another negative overflow. I have followed this emendation to the words because
the context supports it, and both the meaning and structure of the parallel phrases in
Genesis 4:7 are hard to explain with reference to the received text. It seems that ancient
scribes -unsure of the meaning of these phrases- may have come to understand the words
as "... you(s.) shall dominate *him*," and may have thus corrected the text to the
Masoretic form "and to *your man* (is) *your* overflow, and *he* shall dominate *you*,"
which would better fit the knowledge that ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ wants the woman to be subject to the
man, and not vice versa. However, the Apostolic Scriptures assure us that the woman's
position of submission is a beautiful thing which predates sin: her submission is ordained
from *creation* (1Corinthians 11:8-9, 1Peter 3:5, 1Timothy 2:11-13). It is therefore not
the result of sin, punishment or curse. 11 On "And for the ʔǟḏǟ̖m": The BHS suggests "for
the ʔǟḏǟ̖m" rather than "for ʔǟḏǟ̖m" (Masoretic pointing). A definite article ("the") usually
precedes ʔǟḏǟ̖m in this narrative. This emendation is consistently followed in this
translation. 12 On "He (had) said": Non-sequential verbs are used for this phrase in verse
16 and verse 17. This may indicate that the word to the man and to the woman
chronologically preceded the cursing of the snake in verse 14-15. These responses to the
sin of the man and of the woman may have chronologically followed the confessions in
verse 12 and verse 13 respectively. Whether this is so or not, it is clear that ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖
does not go along with their shifting of blame, but has spoken to each the negative
consequences brought about under His sovereignty in response to their disobedience. So
the narrator deals first with the cursing of the snake, and puts the snake out of the
picture before continuing the story of our two ancestors, but by no means indicates that
our ancestors managed to divert ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 's judgment from themselves to the snake!
13 On "you(s.) shall serve it": The BHS says it is so to be read. The received text has: "you
shall eat(s.) it". 14 On "And then He caused them to be clothed.": The preceding verse
indicates that our ancestors were beginning to procreate. Our parents need to know how
to cover themselves because they would not be alone for much longer. That ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖
gave them ‫ כתנת‬indicates that their bindings of fig leaves were not sufficient to cover their
nakedness in His eyes.
Genesis 3,4 15 February 2011 20

lives for unseentime15..." 23 And then
‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ sent him (away) from the
garden of ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n, for serving the ground
which he was taken from there. 24 And
then He pushed (out) the ʔǟḏǟ̖m; and
then He caused him16 to settle from the
east of the garden of ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n, and then
He set17 the kə̯rū ḇ ım
̖̄ and the flame of
the sword turning(over) itself for
looking(after) the way of the tree of the
lives.
firstborns of his small-cattle and from
their (visceral)fat. And then ‫ יהוה‬looked
to Ha̖ ḇɛ̯l and to his gift, 5 and to Qa̖ yi̯n
and to his gift He has not looked. And
then (emotion) burned for Qa̖ yi̯n6
greatly, and then his faces fell7. 6 And
then ‫ יהוה‬said to Qa̖ yi̯n, "For what
[reason] has (emotion) burned for you
(s.)? And for what [reason] have your
(s.) faces fallen? 7 Is it not, if you(s.) do
good, an (up)lifting? And if you(s.) don't

4 And the ʔǟḏǟ̖m has known1 Ḥ awwǟ̖ʰ

his woman; and then she conceived,
and then she birthed Qa̖ yi̯n, and then
do good, sin (is a) stretcher-out (in
wait) for the opening: And to you(s.) (is)
it's overflow, and you(s.) shall dominate
she said, "I have acquired2 a man with in it8." 8 And then Qa̖ yi̯n said to Ha̖ ḇɛ̯l
‫[ יהוה‬helping me]." 2 And then she his brother, "Let us walk the field."9
caused addition3 for birthing his And then it became in their being in the
brother Ha̖ ḇɛ̯l. And then Ha̖ ḇɛ̯l became field, and then Qa̖ yi̯n stood(up) to Ha̖ ḇɛ̯l
(a) grazer4 of small-cattle5, and Qa̖ yi̯n his brother, and then he killed him. 9
has become a server of ground. 3 And it And then ‫ יהוה‬said to Qa̖ yi̯n, "Where [is]
became from the end of [multiple] days, Ha̖ ḇɛ̯l your(s.) brother?" And then he
and then Qa̖ yi̯n brought a gift for ‫יהוה‬ said, "I have not known: Is it that [a]
from the fruit of the ground, 4 and looker(after) my brother I [am]?" 10
Ha̖ ḇɛ̯l has brought -also he- from the And then He said, "What have you(s.)
effectuated? The sound of the bloods10
15 On "unseentime": The Hebrew and Greek words imply more that 'eternity' is 'hidden'
time, rather than that it never will end. In some contexts the words refer to a time that
will end (e.g. Deut 15:17) though we know not when. In other contexts it is hidden from
us whether the unseentime will end or not. 16 On "He caused him": "him" is supplied
from the Septuagint. 17 On "and then He set": This verb is suggested by the Septuagint's
καὶ ἔταξεν. 1 On "has known": This translation highlights that the verb here is not
marked as consecutive. (For contrast, see verse 25 where a consecutive verb is used.)
Contrary to the common misconception that sex began after sin, I suggest that the ʔǟḏǟ̖m
first knew Ḥ awwǟ̖ʰ soon after she was presented to him! (Genesis 2:22) Evidently, in
Genesis 2:25, they were naked for the very purpose that the ʔǟḏǟ̖m should know Ḥ awwǟ̖ʰ!
Did ‫'יהוה‬s plan for their nakedness -that they should thereby "(Re)produce and increase"-
fail until sin occurred? Reader, be assured that sex within marriage has always been the
Almighty's plan! He created it! 2 On "I have acquired": This word ‫תי‬ ִ ‫ ָקִני‬has a root which is
similar in spelling to the name Qa̖ yi̯n. 3 On "she caused addition": Such a verb is used for
the sense of repeating the same action, in this case birthing. 4 On "grazer": ‫ רעה‬a
shepherd, feeding sheep and tending to all their needs; this word is often used as
symbolic for a leader appointed by ‫יהוה‬. 5 On "small-cattle": Sheep and goats are grouped
together by this word, ‫צאן‬. 6 On "(emotion) burned for Qa̖ yi̯n": Usually this is said of
angry emotion. 7 On "his faces fell": Qa̖ yi̯n entered a depressed, saddened, self-pitying
mood. 8 On "you(s.) shall dominate in it": Find these words and their sense also in
Genesis 3:16. In the midst of an overflowing feeling and tendency to sin, Qa̖ yi̯n is
encouraged to dominate. 9 On "Let us walk the field.": These words, present in the
Samaritan, Syriac, Greek and Latin, are absent from the Masoretic text. Many
manuscripts and editions of the Masoretic text leave a gap here for the words. 10 On
"bloods": When the Hebrew word is plural, it tends to imply blood that has been shed:
blood that is no longer one as it was inside the body.
21 15 February 2011 Genesis 4

of your(s.) brother [is] crying-out to me sat14 in the land of Nō̖ ḏ15, east of
from the ground! 11 And now accursed ʕe̖ ḏɛ̯n.
[are] you(s.) from the ground, which 17 And then Qa̖ yi̯n knew his woman.
has opened its mouth for taking the And then she conceived, and then she
bloods of your(s.) brother from your(s.) birthed Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ. And then [Qa̖ yi̯n]
hand: 12 As you(s.) serve the ground, it became builder of (a) city16, and then
shall not cause addition [for] giving its he called the name of the city like the
strength for you(s.). Tottering and name of his son, 'Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ'. 18 And then
wagging you(s.) shall be in the land." 13 Ɣı̄rǟ̖ḏ17 was birthed for Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ: and
And then Qa̖ yi̯n said to ‫יהוה‬, "Great is Ɣı̄rǟ̖ḏ has birthed Ma̯ ḥıʔ̄ ē̖ l: and
my twistedness11 from lifting12. 14 See! 18
Ma̯ ḥıʔ̄ ē̖ l has birthed Ma̯ tu 19
̱ ̄ šǟʔē̖ l : and
You(s.) have pushed me (out) the Ma̯ tu ̱ ̄ šǟʔē̖ l has birthed La̖ mɛ̯ḵ. 19 And
(current)day from over the faces of the then La̖ mɛ̯ḵ took for him(self) two
ground, and from your(s.) faces I shall women: the name of the one, 'ʕǟḏǟ̖ʰ',
be hidden; and then I shall be tottering and the name of the second, 'Ṣ ɛllǟ̖ʰ'. 20
and wagging in the land; and then it And then ʕǟḏǟ̖ʰ birthed Yǟḇǟ̖l: he has
shall become: every finder of me shall
been (a) father of20 (everyone) sitting21
kill me." 15 And then ‫ יהוה‬said for him,
[in] tents of22 (livestock)possession23. 21
"Therefore every13 killer of Qa̖ yi̯n, And the name of his brother [was]
sevenfold [Qa̖ yi̯n] shall be avenged." 'Yū ḇ ǟ̖l': he has been (a) father of every
And then ‫ יהוה‬set for Qa̖ yi̯n a sign, for (one) grabbing stringed-instrument and
not (to) smite him, every finder of him. wind-instrument. 22 And Ṣ ɛllǟ̖ʰ -also
16 And then Qa̖ yi̯n went out from
she- has birthed Tū ḇ al-Qa̖ yi̯n, (a) father
(before)the faces of ‫יהוה‬, and then he of every(one) whetting24 copper and
11 On "twistedness": Twisted behaviour results in twistedness as a punishment. The word
‫ עָֹון‬can refer to either/both the twisted behaviour and the punishment brought about by it.
12 On "Great is my twistedness from lifting": This is the Hebrew way of saying something
is too big to lift. Qa̖ yi̯n is saying that he cannot cope with the results of his sin. 13 On
"every": This is the same Hebrew word as for "all": ‫כל‬. I'm tried to consistently translate it
"all" whenever sensible, and as "every" elsewhere. In some contexts it will be apparent
that this "every" has a similar meaning to "any". 14 On "sat": Such is the literal meaning
of the Hebrew verb which is commonly used to mean "dwelt". 15 On "Nō̖ ḏ": But Greek
has Ναιδ; Samaritan simply has ‫נד‬. The participle is nǟ̖ḏ, "wagging" in verses 12 & 13;
Nō̖ ḏ may be an infinitive of the same root, meaning "(a) wagging". 16 On "builder of (a)
city": Or some manuscripts point it ‫בֶנה עיר‬, "building a city". 17 On "Ɣı̄rǟ̖ḏ": The phoneme
preserved in Arabic letter ghain seems to be indicated in the LXX form, Γαιδαδ.
18 On "Ma̯ ḥıʔ̄ ē̖ l: and Ma̯ ḥıʔ̄ ē̖ l": LXX has Μαιηλ, and Samaritan has similarly: ‫ מחיאל‬...‫מחיאל‬.
Masoretic text has one form and then a second form: ‫ מחייאל‬...‫מחויאל‬. Did the ‫ ו‬form result
from the similar shape of the following name, ‫ ?מתושאל‬19 On "Ma̯ tu ̱ ̄ šǟʔē̖ l": But the LXX
apparently confuses the name with another: Μαθουσαλα. 20 On "father of": Here is
introduced the Biblical idiom, in which -aside from genetic relationship- the originator of
a behaviour or lifestyle is called the 'father' of those who do similarly. Consider the words
of Mǟšı̄h̖ ̣ in John 8:44 and Matthew 5:45. 21 On "sitting": As in verse 16, the meaning
"dwelling" is implied. 22 On "tents of": This translates a proposition found in the BHS
and in 2Chronicles 14:15: ‫לי‬ ֵ ‫ה‬
ֳ ‫א‬ָ . The Masoretic Text has ...‫הל ּו‬
ֶ ֹ ‫" א‬tents and". The LXX reads
"in tents nurturing...". 23 On "(livestock)possession": The word ‫קֶנה‬ ְ ‫מ‬ִ seems to literally
mean "possession", but is most commonly used of livestock. Perhaps it is fair to suggest
that wealth was once measured more in livestock than in money? Consider the words of
Genesis 30:43. 24 On "(a) father of every(one) whetting": The suggestions of the BHS are
here translated. The Masoretic text has "whetting every cutter (of)".
Genesis 4,5 15 February 2011 22

iron. And the sister of Tū ḇ al-Qa̖ yi̯n:
'Noʕɛ̯mǟ̖ʰ'. 23 And then La̖ mɛ̯ḵ said for
his women,
"ʕǟḏǟ̖ʰ and Ṣ ɛllǟ̖ʰ, hear my sound!
Women of La̖ mɛ̯ḵ, listen (to) my
utterance!
As I have slain a man for my bruising,
and a boy for my welt,
24 as sevenfold Qa̖ yi̯n shall be
avenged, and La̖ mɛ̯ḵ seventy and
seven25."
25 And then the ʔǟḏǟ̖m knew his
woman still(more). And then she
birthed a son, and she called his name
'Šē̖ t'̱ , as she has said, "ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ has set26
for me (an)other seed sub(stituting for)
Ha̖ ḇɛ̯l, as Qa̖ yi̯n has killed him." 26 And
for Šē̖ t ̱ -also him- has been birthed (a)
son; and then he called his name
'ʔɛ̯nō̖ š'. This(one) has (caused)delay27
for calling in the name of ‫יהוה‬.
caused(to)birth sons and daughters. 5
And so all the days of ʔǟḏǟ̖m which he
has lived became nine hundred years
and thirty years. And then he died.
6 And so Šē̖ t ̱ lived five years and a
hundred years, and then he caused(to)
birth ʔɛ̯nō̖ š. 7 And then Šē̖ t ̱ lived after
his causing[the]birth[of] ʔɛ̯nō̖ š seven
years and eight hundred years. And so
he caused(to)birth sons and daughters.
8 And so all the days of Šē̖ t ̱ became
twelve years and nine hundred years.
And then he died.
9 And so ʔɛ̯nō̖ š lived ninety years, and
then he caused(to)birth Qaynǟ̖n. 10 And
then ʔɛ̯nō̖ š lived after his causing[the]
birth[of] Qaynǟ̖n fifteen years and eight
hundred years. And so he caused(to)
birth sons and daughters. 11 And so all
the days of ʔɛ̯nō̖ š became five years and
nine hundred years. And then he died.

5 This [is] the recounting of the 12 And so Qaynǟ̖n lived seventy years,
generations of ʔǟḏǟ̖m: In the day of and then he caused(to)birth Mahlalɛ̯ʔē̖ l.
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 's creating ʔǟḏǟ̖m, in semblance 13 And then Qaynǟ̖n lived after his
of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ He has made him. 2 Male causing[the]birth[of] Mahlalɛ̯ʔē̖ l forty
and female He has created them. And years and eight hundred years. And so
then He goodspoke them, and then He he caused(to)birth sons and daughters.
called their name "ʔǟḏǟ̖m" in the day of 14 And so all the days of Qaynǟ̖n
their being created. became ten years and nine hundred
3 And so ʔǟḏǟ̖m lived thirty and a years. And then he died.
hundred years, and then he caused(to) 15 And so Mahlalɛ̯ʔē̖ l lived five years
birth a son like his semblance, in his and sixty years, and then he caused(to)
silhouette. And then he called his name birth Ya̖ rɛ̯ḏ. 16 And then Mahlalɛ̯ʔē̖ l
'Šē̖ t'̱ . 4 And then the days of ʔǟḏǟ̖m lived after his causing[the]birth[of]
after his causing[the]birth[of] Šē̖ t ̱ Ya̖ rɛ̯ḏ thirty years and eight hundred
became eight hundred years. And so he years. And so he caused(to)birth sons
25 On "seventy and seven": La̖ mɛ̯ḵ considered himself more righteous than Qa̖ yi̯n because
the boy he murdered had first bruised him. By his knowing goodness and badness, La̖ mɛ̯ḵ
presumptuously awards himself greater vengence than ‫ יהוה‬graciously gave to Qa̖ yi̯n!
Making declarations about how one thinks things should be is not obedience to the word
of ‫ !יהוה‬26 On "set": The name Šē̖ t ̱ sounds like the Hebrew word for 'set', and is spelled
the same. 27 On "This(one) has (caused)delay": So reads the LXX that ʔɛ̯nō̖ š hoped,
waited to call the name. In Hebrew root y-ḥ -l speaks of delay. In a world where each
rushed to his own way, perhaps this records that ʔɛ̯nō̖ š was different: ʔɛ̯nō̖ š delayed
himself to call on the name of ‫ יהוה‬that he might walk His way, perhaps? But the Masoretic
text has a word of a different root, ḥ -l-l: ‫חל‬ ָ "(At) that time it has been perforated" -the
ַ ‫אז הּו‬
'seal was broken' so to speak: a new activity had begun. But was calling on the name of
‫ יהוה‬really so new? Consider Genesis 4:1. The Samaritan ‫ אז החל‬could be read as the
Masoretic text or as "(At) that time he has (caused)delay".
23 15 February 2011 Genesis 5,6

and daughters. 17 And so all the days of 27 And so all the days of Ma̯ tu ̱ ̄ ša̖ la̯ ḥ
Mahlalɛ̯ʔē̖ l became five and ninety became nine and sixty years and nine
years and eight hundred years. And hundred years. And then he died.
then he died. 28 And so La̖ mɛ̯ḵ lived two and eighty
18 And so Ya̖ rɛ̯ḏ lived two and sixty
years and a hundred years6, and then
years and a hundred years1, and then he caused(to)birth a son. 29 And then
he caused(to)birth Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ. 19 And then he called his name Nō̖ ḥ7, saying, "This
Ya̖ rɛ̯ḏ lived after his causing[the]birth [one] shall make us sigh [relief] from
[of] Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ eight hundred years. And so our works8 and from the travail of our
he caused(to)birth sons and daughters. hands from the ground which ‫ יהוה‬has
20 And so all the days of Ya̖ rɛ̯ḏ became
cursed it." 30 And then La̖ mɛ̯ḵ lived
two and sixty years and nine hundred after his causing[the]birth[of] Nō̖ ḥ five
years. And then he died. and ninety years and five hundred
21 And so Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ lived five and sixty
years. And so he caused(to)birth sons
years, and then he caused(to)birth and daughters. 31 And so all the days of
Ma̯ tu̱ ̄ ša̖ la̯ ḥ. 22 And then Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ went(to La̖ mɛ̯ḵ became seven and seventy years
and fro)2 with the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 3 after his and seven hundred years. And then he
causing[the]birth[of] Ma̯ tu ̱ ̄ ša̖ la̯ ḥ three died. 32 And so Nō̖ ḥ became a son of
hundred years. And so he caused(to) five hundred years, and then Nō̖ ḥ
birth sons and daughters. 23 And so all caused(to)birth Šē̖ m, Ḫǟ̖m, and Ya̖ p̱ɛ̯t.̱
the days of Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ became five and
sixty years and three hundred years. 24
And so Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ went(to and fro) with the
6 And then it became, as the ʔǟḏǟ̖m
has perforated1 for increasing over
the face of the ground, and daughters
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ . And [then] he wasn't[found]4, have been birthed for them. 2 And then
as ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ has taken him. the sons of the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ saw2 the
25 And so Ma̯ tu ̱ ̄ ša̖ la̯ ḥ lived seven and daughters of the ʔǟḏǟ̖m as good they
eighty years and a hundred years5, and [were]. And then they took for them
then he caused(to)birth La̖ mɛ̯ḵ. 26 And women from all which they have
then Ma̯ tu ̱ ̄ ša̖ la̯ ḥ lived after his causing elected. 3 And then ‫ יהוה‬said, "My spirit
[the]birth[of] La̖ mɛ̯ḵ two and eighty shall not reckon in the ʔǟḏǟ̖m for
years and seven hundred years. And so unseentime; in their erring he [is] flesh.
he caused(to)birth sons and daughters. And so his days will become a hundred
1 On "and a hundred years": The Samaritan version (and a medieval manuscript of the
Masoretic Text) does not have these words. The Samaritan version mentions 785 years in
the next verse (instead of 800), and gives a total of 847 years in verse 20 (instead of 962).
2 On "And then Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ went(to and fro)": The Greek text interprets this as "but Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ did
well-please" the Almighty, and similarly in verse 24. See again Hebrews 11:5. 3 On "And
then Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ went(to and fro) with the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ ": Some Latin Vulgate manuscripts and
Greek manuscripts insert "And then Ḥ ɛ̯nō̖ ḵ lived" here, no doubt in imitation of the
surrounding pattern. 4 On "he wasn't[found]": "found" is found in the Greek text, and in
Hebrews 11:5. 5 On "seven and eighty years and a hundred years": The Greek text has
167 years before fathering La̖ mɛ̯ḵ, and 802 years after, to make the same total number of
years of Ma̯ tu ̱ ̄ ša̖ la̯ ḥ's life: 969. The Samaritan text has 67 and 653, and a total of 720.
6 On "two and eighty years and a hundred years": The Samaritan version has 53 years
before fathering Nō̖ ḥ, 600 years after, and a total of 653 years. 7 On "Nō̖ ḥ": The name is
spelled with the first two letters of the root for 'sigh' here, but may be derived from a
similar root meaning 'repose'. 8 On "works": So reads the Samaritan, Greek, Syriac and
Vulgate, and many medieval manuscripts of the Masoretic Text; others read "work".
1 On "perforated": That is, humankind figuratively 'broke through' to do something new;
he *began* to increase. 2 On "saw": In the sense of 'regarded', as in Genesis 1:4.
Genesis 6 15 February 2011 24

and twenty years." 4 The nɛ̯p̱ı̄lı̄m̖ 3 have
been in the land in those days, and also
after so, when the sons of the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 9 These [are] the generations of Nō̖ ḥ:
come to the daughters the ʔǟḏǟ̖m, and
then they birth for them. These [were]
the forceful (ones) from unseentime,
the men of the name.
5 And then ‫ יהוה‬saw as vast the
badness of the ʔǟḏǟ̖m in the land, and
all the handiwork of the cogitations of
his heart4 [was] only bad all the day. 6
And then ‫ יהוה‬sighed as He has
effectuated the ʔǟḏǟ̖m in the land, and
then He travailed (Himself) to His
heart. 7 And then ‫ יהוה‬said, "I will wipe
(away) the ʔǟḏǟ̖m which I have created
from over the faces of the ground; from
ʔǟḏǟ̖m, as-far-as beast, as-far-as quiet-
moverkind, and as-far-as the
flapperkind of the skies; as I have
sighed as I have effectuated them." 8
And Nō̖ ḥ has found favour in the eyes
of ‫יהוה‬.
Nō̖ ḥ [was] (a) righteous man: complete
he has been in his generations. With
̖ Nō̖ ḥ has gone(to and fro). 10
the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
And then Nō̖ ḥ caused(to)birth three
sons: Šē̖ m, Ḫǟ̖m, and Ya̖ p̱ɛ̯t.̱ 11 And then
the land (became) ruined (before)the
faces the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ , and so the land
(became) filled [with] wrong. 12 And
then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ saw the land, and see! It
has (been) ruined, as all flesh over the
land has caused its way to be ruined.
13 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ said for Nō̖ ḥ,
"[An] end of all flesh has come (before)
my faces; as the land is filled [with]
wrong from their faces5, and see me!
[I'm] causing them to be ruined from
[there] with the land6. 14 Effectuate for

3 On "The nɛ̯p̱ı̄lı̄m
̖ ": The non-canonical books 1Enoch and Jubilees relate the story of these
giants, the nɛ̯p̱ı̄lı̄m
̖ , the offspring of a forbidden union between human women and angels
("the sons of the ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ ", see Job 1:6, 2:1), who are male in form. These angelic fathers
are "the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation," and the
Almighty sent them to a prison for spirits where they are "reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (see Jude 1:6 & 2Peter 2:4). [These
Apostolic writings relate and affirm understanding previously recorded in works such as
1Enoch and Jubilees.] These angels are "the spirits in prison which sometime were
disobedient, when once the longsuffering of [ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ ] waited in the days of Nō̖ ḥ, while the
ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water" (1Peter
3:19-20). Their gigantic offspring, the nɛ̯p̱ı̄lı̄m ̖ , killed and devoured animals and humans
with an insatiable appetite, and were greatly feared and remembered and worshiped by
men. The Almighty decreed the destruction of their flesh, but being the hybrids of
immortal and mortal beings their spirits lived on as the 'unclean spirits', the 'evil spirits'
known as 'demons'. Hence it is said that the nations worship demons and not gods; their
'name' of the giants lives on with their spirits. After the flood, in response to Nō̖ ḥ's prayer,
the Almighty ordered the spirits of the giants to be bound in a spiritual prison, but Śǟtạ̈ ̖̄n
(also called Maśtē mǟ̖ʰ) pleads with the Almighty to allow a tenth of them to remain in the
earth to do his dirty work of afflicting mankind for their sins. And so Śǟtạ̈ ̖̄n became the
'prince of the demons' and their work becomes associated with Śǟtạ̈ ̖̄n (see Mark 3:22-23).
4 On "heart": In the Scriptures 'heart' refers to the hidden, inner part of a human, where
the thinking and feeling takes place, as opposed to the outer part, the body. In English
usage, 'heart' is primarily used of the emotions or subconsciousness, but in Biblical
language all the thinking part of us is implied: all the mind in its many functions.
Biblically, to "know something with the heart" implies nothing more than to know
something with the head. The head-heart dichotomy -popular amongst English speakers-
is not a reality in Biblical language. 5 On "from their faces": This literally translates what
has the sense, "because of them". 6 On "from [there] with the land": The BHS suggests
the 'from', which is also present in the Samaritan Targum.
25 15 February 2011 Genesis 6

you(s.) [a] float7 of trees of cypress8:
(with) nests you(s.) shall effectuate the
float -(with) lowest [nests], second
[level nests] and third [level nests] you
shall effectuate it-9 and then you shall
copher10 from (in)house and from
outside in the copher. 15 And this [is the
size] which you(s.) shall effectuate [for]
it: Three hundred cubits [is] the length
of the float, fifty cubits [is] its breadth,
and thirty cubits [is] its height, and to
[a] cubit you shall finish it (up)11. 16 [A]
meridian [windowhole] you(s.) shall
effectuate for the float from above, and
the opening of the float in its side you
shall set. 17 And I, see me! [I'm]
causing the inundation -waters-12 to
come over the land, for ruining all
flesh, which in it [is] spirit of lives, from
sub(jacent) [to] the skies: all which [is]
in the land shall exhale [its final
breath]. 18 And then I will cause my
covenant to stand: [my covenant] with
you. And then you(s.) shall come to the
float: you(s.) and your(s.) sons and your
(s.) woman and the women of your(s.)
sons with you(s.). 19 And from all the
livingkind13 and from all the flesh14:
two, two15 from every [sort] you(s.)
shall bring to the float, for causing life
[survival] with you(s.): [a] male and [a]
female they shall be. 20 From the
flapperkind for its kind, and from the
large-quadrupedkind for its kind, and
from all the quiet-moverkind of the
ground for its kind: two, two from all
shall come to you(s.), for causing life
[survival]. 21 And you(s.): take for you
(s.) from all food which shall be eaten,
and so you(s.) shall gather to you(s.);
and then it shall become for you(s.) and
for them, for food." 22 And then Nō̖ ḥ
effectuated like all which ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ has
(laid) him command: he has effectuated
so.

7 On "float": This Hebrew noun is used in the Scriptures only of Nō̖ ḥ's ark and the basket
in which Mō šɛ̖̄ʰ floated. 8 On "cypress": In Hebrew, ‫ גפר‬from gupr-, a root apparently
linked to κυπρος "cypress". 9 On "-(with) lowest [nests], second [level nests] and third
[level nests] you shall effectuate it-": These words are transposed from the end of verse
16, as the BHS suggests that they belong here. Note that it is here that these plural
adjectives have a plural noun "nests" to describe. 10 On "copher": This word is coined to
translate the Hebrew noun ‫פר‬ ֶ ֹ ‫( ּכ‬ko̖ p̱ɛ̯r) and the verb of the same root. It can be
pronounced by English readers similarly to 'cover' (but with voiceless 'ph' for voiced 'v')
which implies its basic meaning. The Hebrew noun ko̖ p̱ɛ̯r appears to be linked to cypress
(κυπρος) and to refer to a substance derived from cypress leaves which can be used to
make a red covering like a protective paint or sealant. The Hebrew verb means to cover
(as) with ko̖ p̱ɛ̯r. Both the noun and verb are used figuratively for covering in the sense of
atonement for or redemption of a life, by blood. So this saving ark was covered inside and
outside with ko̖ p̱ɛ̯r, a symbol of the saving blood of Messiah. 11 On "and to [a] cubit you
shall finish it (up)": These words are transposed here from verse 16, as the BHS suggests
that they belong here. 12 On "-waters-": The BHS suggests this word was added to the
Hebrew text to clarify "the inundation". This would explain the peculiar syntax in the
Hebrew text here, which has ‫מִים‬ ַ ‫" הַַּמּבּול‬the flood, waters..." rather than ‫מי הַַּמּבּול‬
ֵ "the waters
of the flood" as in Genesis 7:7,10 and 9:11. 13 On "the livingkind": Samaritan reads ‫החיה‬
"the livingkind" which is in agreement with the Greek Septuagint's τῶν κτηνῶν; the
Masoretic text has ‫" החי‬the living". 14 On "and from all the flesh": So read the Samaritan
and Septuagint; the Masoretic text has "from all flesh". 15 On "two, two": This repetition
of 'two' implies "in pairs". The Septuagint and Syriac have 'two, two' here and in verse 20,
as in the Masoretic text of Genesis 7:9 & 7:15, but the Masoretic text has only one 'two' in
each verse. Is this due to haplography? [Haplography is a common scribal error in which
the eye skips over a repetition of letters, and the hand writes the letters only once.]
Genesis 7 15 February 2011 26

7 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ 1 said for Nō̖ ḥ,

"Come -you(s.) and all your(s.)
house- to the float! As you(s.) I have
seen righteous before me in this
generation. 2 From all the pure large-
quadrupedkind you(s.) shall take for you
(s.): seven, seven, male and female; and
from the large-quadrupedkind which it
[is] not pure: two, two2, male and
female3; 3 also from the pure4
flapperkind of the skies: sevens,
sevens, male and female; and from the
flapperkind which it [is] not pure: two,
two, male and female5; for (preserving
as) living [their] seed over [the] faces of
all the land. 4 As for days, still[only]
seven, I [am] (causing)rain over the
land forty days and forty nights, and
then I shall wipe(away) all the stood-up
(substance) which I have effectuated
from over the faces of the land." 5 And
then Nō̖ ḥ effectuated like all which ‫יהוה‬
has (laid) him command.
6 And Nō̖ ḥ [was] a son of six hundred
years and the inundation has been
waters6 over the land. 7 And so came
Nō̖ ḥ, and his sons, and his woman, and
his sons' women with him, to the float,
from the faces of the waters of the
inundation. 8 From the pure large-
quadrupedkind, and from the large-
quadrupedkind which it isn't pure, and
from the flapperkind, and from7 all
which [is] quietly-moving over the
ground, 9 two, two, they have come to
Nō̖ ḥ to the float, male and female, like
which 8‫ יהוה‬has (laid) Nō̖ ḥ command. 10
And then it became for the seven days,
and the waters of the inundation have
been over the land. 11 In the year of
the9 six hundred years for the lives of
Nō̖ ḥ, in the second [re]newal10, the
seventeenth day for the [re]newal, in
this day all [the] springs of [the] vast
deep have split(open), and the meshes
of the skies have opened. 12 And then
the downpour became over the land
forty days and forty nights. 13 In the

1 On "ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ ": The Samaritan and Syriac reads "ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ " here. Masoretic text has "‫"יהוה‬.
Septuagint combines the two as "‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ ". I chose ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ here because throughout
Genesis where ‫ יהוה‬is used in the phrase "And ‫ יהוה‬said to/for [name]", 'to' ‫ אל‬is used, and
not 'for' ‫ ל‬as here. With ʔɛ̯lōhım
̖̄ in the phrase "And ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ said to/for [name]", 'to' ‫( אל‬see
Genesis 9:17) or 'for' ‫( ל‬see Genesis 6:13) is used. 2 On "two, two,": The Masoretic Text
lacks the second 'two'. Samaritan, Greek, Syriac and Vulgate all include it. 3 On "male
and female... male and female": So reads the Samaritan and the ancient translations. The
Masoretic Text has instead: "[a] man and his woman", twice in this verse; in verses 3, 9 &
16, it reads as the others, "male and female". 4 On "pure": This word is present in the
Samaritan and Greek texts, but absent from the Masoretic text. 5 On "and from the
flapperkind which it [is] not pure: two, two, male and female": Preserved in the Greek
Septuagint, this fits the pattern given above, but seems to have dropped from the text
preserved in all the other texts. Genesis 8:7 & Leviticus 11:15 indicate that Nō̖ ḥ did
indeed preserve impure birds on the float, and not just the pure ones. 6 On "-waters-":
The BHS suggests this word was added to the Hebrew text of Genesis 6:17, and may not
have originally been here either. 7 On "from": The Masoretic Text omits the single
consonant translated here as "from"; the Samaritan, Greek, Syriac and Vulgate include
the word. 8 On "‫"יהוה‬: Samaritan reads "‫ ;"יהוה‬Masoretic text has "ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ ". I chose ‫יהוה‬
here, because throughout the rest of the Pentateuch, ‫ יהוה‬occurs in the phrase "like which
_____ has (laid) [name] command" (see Exodus 12:28; 40:23; Numbers 8:22). The phrase is
less commonly found with ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ and doesn't include the name of the person
commanded (Genesis 7:16; 21:4). 9 On "the": This 'the' is present in the Samaritan and
Septuagint, but absent from the Masoretic Text. 10 On "[re]newal": This word ‫ ח ֶֹדׁש‬is used
only of the [lunar?] month, it's first day, and the celebrations associated with it's first day.
27 15 February 2011 Genesis 7,8

bone of this day11 has come Nō̖ ḥ, and [were] sub(jacent) all the skies, were
Šē̖ m and Ḫǟ̖m and Ya̖ p̱ɛ̯t ̱ -the sons of covered: 20 fifteen cubits from above,
Nō̖ ḥ- and Nō̖ ḥ's woman, and his sons' the waters have been strong. And so
three women with him12, to the float, 14 the mountains15 were covered. 21 And
those, and all the livingkind for its kind, so all flesh quietly-moving over the land
and all the large-quadrupedkind for its exhaled [its final breath]: in the
kind, and all the quiet-moverkind flapperkind, and in the large-
quietly-moving over the ground for its quadrupedkind, and in the livingkind,
kind, and all the flapperkind for its and in all the swarmerkind swarming
kind, every bird, every wing13. 15 And over the land, and all the ʔǟḏǟ̖m: 22 all
so they came to Nō̖ ḥ to the float: two, which [had] breath of spirit of lives16 in
two, from all the flesh which in it [has] its inhalers, from all which [was] in the
spirit of lives. 16 And the [ones] coming - drained[land], has died. 23 And so He
male and female from all flesh- have wiped(away)17 all the stood-up
come, like which ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ had (laid) him (substance) which [was] over the faces
command. And then ‫ יהוה‬closed-up of the ground: from ʔǟḏǟ̖m, as-far-as
encompassing him. 17 And then became large-quadrupedkind, as-far-as quiet-
the inundation: forty days14 over the moverkind, and as-far-as the
land, and so the waters increased, and flapperkind of the skies. And so they
then they lifted the float, and so it rose were wiped(away) from the land. And
from over the land. 18 And so the then remained, distinctly, Nō̖ ḥ and [the
waters became strong, and so they flesh] which [was] with him in the float.
24 And so the waters became strong
increased greatly over the land; and so
the float went over the faces of the over the land fifty and a hundred days.
waters. 19 And the waters have been
strong -greatly, greatly- over the land; 8 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ remembered1
Nō̖ ḥ, and all the livingkind, and all
the large-quadrupedkind which [was]
and then all the high mountains, which
11 On "In the bone of this day": This literal translation of the Hebrew text reveals a
Hebrew idiom: the 'bone' of something is its essence, it's self, itself. So "In the bone of
this day" conveys the sense "In this day itself". 12 On "with him": BHS suggests this
reading which is supported by the Septuagint and the Pseudo-Jonathan Targum, and
Genesis 8:16&18. The Masoretic Text has "with them". In "with him" there is the
implication that they are saved through being with righteous Nō̖ ḥ, because they are his
family. A man's family is made up of himself, his wife, his male offspring and their wives,
and his unmarried female offspring. 13 On "every bird, every wing": These words are
lacking from the Septuagint, but present in the Masoretic, Syriac and Samaritan texts.
The BHS suggests to delete them. 14 On "forty days": The Septuagint has "forty days and
forty nights", as in 7:12; the Masoretic, Samaritan and Syriac texts do not include "and
forty nights" here. 15 On "the mountains": The Septuagint and Syriac have "the high
mountains" here, as in the preceding verse, which is perhaps correct. Masoretic Text and
Samaritan has simply "the mountains" here. 16 On "breath of spirit of lives": The
Septuagint and Vulgate read simply "breath of lives". 17 On "And so He wiped(away)": So
reads the Masoretic Text and Septuagint. The King James Version reads "And every living
substance was destroyed", and the BHS suggests that the verb may be mediopassive
(Niphal) rather than simple active (Qal). Has the direct object marker ‫את‬ ֶֽ not been
noticed? Its presence marks "all the stood-up(substance)..." as being an object of a
transitive verb, rather than the subject of a mediopassive verb. 1 On "ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖
remembered": Not that Nō̖ ḥ had ceased to be in ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ 's mind! Rather this Hebrew verb
for 'remember' implies bringing something to the forefront of one's mind, bringing a
thought into focus. ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ 's focus has at this point changed from flooding the world, to
restoring Nō̖ ḥ and those with him.
Genesis 8 15 February 2011 28

with him in the float. And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖
caused spirit2 to traverse over the land.
And then the waters subsided. 2 And
then [the] springs of [the] deep and the
meshes of the skies were confined, and
so the downpour from skies was
withheld. 3 And then the waters
returned from over the land: [a] going
and [a] returning. And then the waters
(became)deficient from [the] end of
[the] fifty and a hundred days. 4 And
then the float reposed in the seventh
[re]newal, in the seventeenth day of the
[re]newal, over the mountains of
ʔa̯ rǟrǟ̖t3̣ . 5 And the waters have been
[a] going and [a] becoming deficient as-
far-as the tenth [re]newal. In the tenth,
in [day] one for the [re]newal, the
heads of the mountains have been seen.
6 And then it became from the end of
forty days, and then Nō̖ ḥ opened the
windowhole of the float which he has
effectuated. 7 And then he sent(away)
the crow4, and then it went out -(a)
going out and (a) returning- as-far-as
the drying of the waters from over the
land. 8 [And then Nō̖ ḥ (made)delay
seven days.]5 And then he sent(away)
the dove from with him, for seeing:
Have the waters (become)lightweight
from over the faces of the ground? 9
And the dove has not found repose for
the concavity of its foot, and so it
returned to him to the float, as the
waters [were] over the faces of all the
land. And then he sent his hand, and
then he took it, and then he caused it to
come to him to the float. 10 And then he
(made)delay6 still(more) seven other
days, and then he caused addition [for]
sending(away) the dove from the float.
11 And then the dove came to him for
[a] time of [an] evening; and see! A
ripped-off leaf of [an] olive(tree) in its
mouth! And then Nō̖ ḥ knew the waters
have (become)lightweight from over
the land. 12 And then he (made)delay7
still(more) seven other days, and then
he sent(away) the dove; and it has not
added returning to him still(more). 13
And then it became in one and six
hundred years [for the lives of Nō̖ ḥ]8 in
the first [[re]newal], in [day] one for the
[re]newal, the waters have drained
from over the land. And then Nō̖ ḥ
caused the covering of the float to turn-
aside, and then he saw, and see! The
faces of the ground have drained! 14

2 On "spirit": In this verse 'wind' is implied. I've tried to translate this word ַ‫רּוח‬
consistently as 'spirit'. The Latin word spiritus originally meant 'breath', but came to be
used to mean the non-physical lifeforce of a living being (animus). All these meanings are
within the word ַ‫רּוח‬. Indeed it could be argued that 'wind' and 'breath' are non-physical:
whilst made up of moving particles, it is the *flow* of the particles which makes it
'breath', rather than just being air. Is flow physical? 3 On "the mountains of ʔa̯ rǟrǟ̖t"̣ :
Note that the name ʔa̯ rǟrǟ̖t ̣ -Urarṭu in Assyrian- was the name of a large geographic
region, in which there was a kingdom in the early 1st millenium BCE. Somewhere in the
mountain ranges of this large geographic region the float came to rest. A mountain about
the border of Armenia now bears the name Ararat from this account. 4 On "the crow":
After "the crow" the Septuagint has "to know if the water has ceased", perhaps from verse
8. 5 On "[And then Nō̖ ḥ (made)delay seven days.]": This sentence is added at the
suggestion of the BHS. Verse 10's "other seven days" seems to suggest that Nō̖ ḥ had
delayed a first seven days here. 6 On "And then he (made)delay": The BHS says it is
probably to be read this way. The Masoretic text has ‫חל‬ ֶ ָ ‫" ו ַּי‬And then he perforated [to do
something new]", that is "he began". 7 On "And then he (made)delay": The Piel verb has
been translated as the BHS suggests it should probably be both here and in verse 10, but
what is found here in the Masoretic text is the Niphal ‫חל‬ ֶ ָ ‫" ו ַּיִּי‬And then he was delayed" .
8 On "[for the lives of Nō̖ ḥ]": The Septuagint has these words here, as also found in
Genesis 7:11. Their meaning is implied whether or not they were copied to this location,
or they dropped from it.
29 15 February 2011 Genesis 8,9

And in the second [re]newal, in the not still(more) cause addition for
seven and twentieth day for the [re] making the ground lightweight12
newal, the land has dried. because of the ʔǟḏǟ̖m, as the
15 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ worded(up) to handiwork of the heart of the ʔǟḏǟ̖m
Nō̖ ḥ, saying, 16 "Go out from the float, [is] bad from his youth; and I will not
you(s.), and your(s.) woman, and your still(more) cause addition for smiting
(s.) sons, and your(s.) sons' women with all living, like which I have effectuated.
22 "Still all the days of the land, seed
you(s.). 17 And9 all the livingkind which
[is] with you, from all flesh, in the and harvest, and coldness and hotness,
flapperkind and in the large- and warming-season and cooling-
quadrupedkind and in all the quiet- 13
season , and day and night, shall not
moverkind quietly-moving over the sabbatize."
land: bring out with you! And then they
will swarm in the land, and then they
shall (re)produce, and then they shall
9 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ goodspoke Nō̖ ḥ
and his sons, and then He said for
them, "(Re)produce and increase, and
increase over the land." 18 And then fill the land1! 2 And the fear of you(pl.)
Nō̖ ḥ came out, and his sons, and his and the breaking-dread of you(pl.) is
woman, and his sons' women with him. over all the livingkind of the land, 2[and
19 And10 all the livingkind, all the large- over all the large-quadrupedkind,] and
quadrupedkind, and all the flapperkind, over all the flapperkind of the skies,
and all the quiet-moverkind quietly- [and]3 in all which the ground quietly-
moving over the land11, for their moves, and in all the fishes of the sea:
families: they have come out from the in your(pl.) hand they have been given.
float. 3 All quiet-moverkind which it [is] living
20 And then Nō̖ ḥ built [a] ritual shall be for you(pl.) for food: like
(firestand) for ‫יהוה‬, and then he took greenness of vegetation, I have given
from all the pure large-quadrupedkind, for you(pl.) all. 4 Distinctly, flesh in its
and from all the pure flapperkind, and breather [its blood]4 you(pl.) shall not
then he caused to ascend ascenders in eat. 5 And distinctly your(pl.) blood for
the ritual(firestand). 21 And then ‫יהוה‬ your(pl.) breathers I seek; from [the]
smelled the smell of the contentment, hand of all [the] livingkind I seek it, and
and then ‫ יהוה‬said to his heart, "I will from the hand of the ʔǟḏǟ̖m: from the
9 On "And": Samaritan, Septuagint and Syriac include; Masoretic Text omits. 10 On
"And": Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate include; most manuscripts of the
Masoretic Text omit. 11 On "all the large-quadrupedkind, and all the flapperkind, and all
the quiet-moverkind quietly-moving over the land": So reads the Septuagint, but the
Masoretic Text reads "all the quiet-moverkind, and all the flapperkind, all [those] quietly-
moving over the land", and the Samaritan reads "all the flapperkind, and all the quiet-
moverkind quietly-moving over the land". 12 On "for making the ground lightweight":
Hebrew idiom: to curse, belittle, make to be of little value. 13 On "warming-season and
cooling-season": Traditionally translated 'summer and winter', these two seasons
apparently make up the whole year. But the focus of "warming-season" is the fruit of
summer, and "cooling-season" seems to include autumn and winter. 1 On "(Re)produce
and increase, and fill the land": These are again the words of Genesis 1:28, signifying a
new beginning, albeit man is already bad from his youth now (Genesis 8:21). 2 On "[and
over all the large-quadrupedkind,]": Absent from the Hebrew texts; suggested by the
manuscripts of the Septuagint. 3 On "[and]": Present in some manuscripts of the
Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch. 4 On "[its blood]": The BHS suggests this is a
gloss -an addition to the text- to explain the meaning of "in its breather". The Hebrew
syntax of the verse would be more usual without it.
Genesis 9 15 February 2011 30

hand of the man and5 his brother I seek and all breatherkind of livingkind
the breather of the ʔǟḏǟ̖m. which [is] with you(pl.), for generations
6 "[One] spilling the blood of the of unseentime: 13 My bow I have given
ʔǟḏǟ̖m, in the cloud, and so it shall be for [a]
~ in the ʔǟḏǟ̖m6 his blood shall be sign of [a] covenant between me and
spilt, the land. 14 And then it shall be in my
as in [the] silhouette of ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ clouding a cloud over the land, and
~ He has effectuated the ʔǟḏǟ̖m. then shall be seen the bow in the cloud:
7 15 And then I will remember my
And you(pl.): (Re)produce and
increase! covenant which [is] between me and
~[And]7 swarm in the land, and you(pl.) and all breatherkind of
dominate8 in it!" livingkind in all flesh; and the waters
8 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ said to Nō̖ ḥ, and to shall not still(more) become for [an]
his sons with him, saying, 9 "And I, see inundation for ruining all flesh. 16 And
me! [I'm] causing my covenant to so the bow shall be in the cloud, and I
stand, [my covenant] with you(pl.), and will see it, for remembering [a]
covenant of unseentime between
with your(pl.) seed after you(pl.); 10
ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m̖ and all breatherkind of
And with all the breatherkind of the
livingkind in all flesh which [is] over
livingkind which [is] with you(pl.), in
the land." 17 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ said to
the flapperkind, and9 in the large-
Nō̖ ḥ, "This [is] the sign of the covenant
quadrupedkind, and in all the
which I have caused to stand between
livingkind of the land with you(pl.);
me and all flesh which [is] over the
from all the out-goers of the float [for
land."
all the livingkind of the land]10. 11 And 18 And so the sons of Nō̖ ḥ became the
so I cause my covenant to stand with
goers-out from the float: Šē̖ m, and
you(pl.), and all flesh shall not be cut
Ḫǟ̖m, and Ya̖ p̱ɛ̯t.̱ And Ḫǟ̖m [was] the
off still(more) from the waters of the
inundation, and there shall not be still father of Ka̯ na̖ ʕa̯ n. 19 Three [are] these,
(more) [an] inundation for ruining the the sons of Nō̖ ḥ, and from these has
land. 12 And then ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ said, "This shcattered11 all the land.
20 And then Nō̖ ḥ perforated [to
[is] the sign of the covenant which I
[am] giving between me and you(pl.) become] a man of the ground, and then
5 On "and": Some Masoretic manuscripts, the Cairo Genizah, the Samaritan, Syriac and
Vulgate include this word. Without it "the man *of* his brother" could be understood.
6 On "in the ʔǟḏǟ̖m": That is, *by* the ʔǟḏǟ̖m. In both Biblical Hebrew and Greek, 'in' not
only used as a locative preposition, but is also used to signify the agent by/through whom
something is done. 7 On "[And]": The ancient translations, the Samaritan version, and a
few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text include this "and". 8 On "[dominate]": The known
texts have "increase" ‫ ּוְרבּו‬, as already found earlier in this verse, but the BHS suggests it
be emended to ‫" ּוְרדּו‬dominate" on the basis of Genesis 1:28. Origen's recension of the
Septuagint (that found in his Hexapla) supports this emendation, reading κατακυριεύσατε
αὐτῆς, as in Genesis 1:28. As can be seen, a scribal error involving a single letter could
change ‫" ּוְרדּו‬dominate" into ‫" ּוְרבּו‬increase". 9 On "and": The Cairo Genizah, Samaritan,
Septuagint, Syriac and some Targums support this "and". The Masoretic text omits it.
10 On "[for all the livingkind of the land]": These words are absent from the Septuagint,
and the BHS suggests that they are perhaps to be deleted. 11 On "shcattered": The root
‫ נפץ‬at some times means to scatter, and at other times means to shatter. Were these
perhaps originally two distinct roots? I have coined a word 'shcattered' to translate this
verb, leaving it to the reader to recognise the verb and determine from each context
which sense is meant.
31 15 February 2011 Genesis 9-19

he planted [a] vineyard. 21 And then he ~ servant for him."

drank from the wine, and then he was
intoxicated. And then he revealed
himself in the midst of his tent. 22 And
then Ḫǟ̖m -the father of Ka̯ na̖ ʕa̯ n- saw
the nakedness of his father. And then
he (made) [it] manifest12 for his two
28 And then Nō̖ ḥ lived after the
inundation three hundred years and
fifty years. 29 And then all the days of
Nō̖ ḥ became nine hundred years and
fifty years, and then he died.
10
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

brothers in the outside. 23 And then 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Šē̖ m and Ya̖ p̱ɛ̯t ̱ took the cloth, and then 31 32 .

11
they set [it] over the shoulder(girdle) of 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
the two of them, and then they went 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
backward, and then they covered(up) 31 32 .
the nakedness of their father; and their
12
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
faces [were] backward, and the 18 19 20
nakedness of their father they have not .

13
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
seen. 24 And then Nō̖ ḥ awoke from his
18 .
wine, and then he knew what his small

14
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
son13 has effectuated for him. 25 And
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 .
then he said,

15
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
"Accursed [is] Ka̯ na̖ ʕa̯ n!
18 19 20 21
~ Servant of servants14 shall he be for .

1617
his brothers!" 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 .
26 And then he said, 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
"Goodspoken [is] ‫ יהוה‬ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ of Šē̖ m; 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 .

18
~ and let Ka̯ na̖ ʕa̯ n be [a] servant for 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
him. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
27 Let ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ cause spreading(open) 31 32 33 .
15 for Ya̖ pɛ̯t,̱

19
̱ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
~ and let him settle in the tents of 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Šē̖ m; 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 .
and let Ka̯ na̖ ʕa̯ n be

12 On "(made)...manifest": Such is the root meaning of this verb. It usually refers to

manifesting something by narrating it. Whether by word or deed, Ḫǟ̖m manifested his
father's nakedness -that which is to be covered, not exposed- and thus he greatly shamed
his father. 13 On "his small son": Nō̖ ḥ's younger son. The order of Nō̖ ḥ's sons is always
found in Scripture as "Šē̖ m, and Ḫǟ̖m, and Ya̖ p̱ɛ̯t"̱ and this may imply birth order. The
Book of Jubilees gives this order and specifically states birth years for each. This order
makes Ḫǟ̖m the middle son, younger only than Šē̖ m. Could it be that the 'small son'
referred to here is in fact Nō̖ ḥ's grandson, Ka̯ na̖ ʕa̯ n, who perhaps, on being informed of
Nō̖ ḥ's nakedness, effectuated some unmentioned evil even worse than Ḫǟ̖m did? It is
Ka̯ na̖ ʕa̯ n that becomes the subject of the curses that follow. In the Book of Jubilees
7:10-14 it applies the phrase 'younger son' to the youngest son of Ḫǟ̖m... "[Nō̖ ḥ] knew all
that his younger son had done unto him, and he cursed his son and said: 'Cursed be
Canaan...' And Ham knew that his father had cursed his younger son, and he was
displeased that he had cursed his son. and he parted from his father, he and his sons with
him, Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan."... but neither does it explain what this
younger son, Ka̯ na̖ ʕa̯ n, actually did. 14 On "Servant of servants": This means a most
servant-like servant. Likewise 'King of kings' means a most kingly king. 15 On "Let...
cause spreading(open)": This verb sounds almost the same as the name Ya̖ p̱ɛ̯t.̱
Genesis 20-50 15 February 2011 32

20 35
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 . 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 .

21 36
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 . 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 .

22 37
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 . 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

23
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 31 32 33 34 35 36 .

38
18 19 20 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

24
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30 .

39
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 18 19 20 21 22 23 .

40
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

25
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 .

41
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
31 32 33 34 . 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

26
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 .

42
31 32 33 34 35 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

27
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 .

43
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
46 . 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

28
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 31 32 33 34 .

44
18 19 20 21 22 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

29
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 .

45
31 32 33 34 35 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

30
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 .

46
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 . 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 31 32 33 34 .

47
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 . 31 .

32 48
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 18 19 20 21 22 .

49
31 32 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

33
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
18 19 20 . 31 32 33 .

34 50
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 .
31 .
33 15 February 2011 Deuteronomy 1-22

1 12
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 . 31 32 .

2 13
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 18 .

14
33 34 35 36 37 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

3
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 .

15
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

4
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 19 20 21 22 23 .

16
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 18 19 20 21 22 .

17
48 49 . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

5
2 3 4 5 6 I [am] ‫ יהוה‬your(s.) ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m
̖ , 18 19 20 .

18
which I have caused you(s.) to 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
exit from the land of Egypt, from a 18 19 20 21 22 .
house of servants. 7 There shall not be
19
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
for you(s.) other ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ against my 18 19 20 21 .
face. 8 You(s.) shall not make for you(s.)
20
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
an idol statue1. Every appearance 18 19 20 .
which [is] in skies from above, or which
21
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
[is] in the land from sub(jacent), or 18 19 20 21 22 23 .
which [is] in the seas from sub(jacent)
22
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
to the land: 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 .
30 .
6
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 .

7
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 .

8
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 .

9
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 .

10
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 .

11
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 .

1 On "idol statue": This Hebrew word is only used Biblically for statues involved in
worship.
Deuteronomy 23,24 15 February 2011 34

23
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 then he sends her from his house 2 and
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
. then she exits from his house and then

24 Because a man takes a woman
and then1 he marries her and
then it happens if she doesn't find
favour in his eyes because he has found
in her a nakedness of a thing and then
he writes2 for her an account of cutting
off and then he gives in her hand and
she goes and then she becomes for
another man 3 and then the latter man
hates her and then3 he writes for her
an account of cutting off and then he
gives in her hand and then he sends
her from his house or because the
latter man dies which he took her to

1 On "Because a man takes a woman and then": Here ‫ יהוה‬first tackles this manmade
custom which he hated (Mal 2:16): rather than endure in the oneness that ‫ יהוה‬had
designed a man and his wife to endure in (Gen 2:24), the people had a custom of sending
their wives away because they had ceased to look on them with favour. They sent them
with a written account which in their eyes severed the oneness of the marriage. In three
verses ‫ יהוה‬outlines 1) their divorce custom, 2) what it caused the woman to do, and 3)
what the woman was likely to suffer. In the fourth verse he applies a penalty to the one
who has initiated this chain of events: the man who divorced her in the first place is
restricted from taking her again. The wife which he chose not to treasure has become
forbidden to him; he thus cannot chose to do love or hatred to her anymore, for his choice
has been made and has produced defilement and abominable consequence. Evidently ‫יהוה‬
wanted His people to see the bad consequences of this custom of theirs, and perhaps
some of them would hesitate from divorcing their wives. Why did He not absolutely forbid
divorce? Messiah answers that it was because of their stubbornness (Mt 19:8); forbidding
the custom would not stop them doing it. Messiah's teaching deals more completely with
divorce in as much as it reveals the will of ‫ יהוה‬will for marriage: that what He has bound
should be honoured until death (Mk 10:2-12, 1Cor 7:39). ‫ יהוה‬also supplies His Spirit to
those who receive Messiah's teaching, so that now His people may not be natural, hard-
hearted, carnal and rebellious in their customs, but instead agreeable to ‫ יהוה‬and
empowered to do all His will. 2 On "and then he writes": This is just another link in the
chain of events, marked just like the other links with the consecutive preterite. It is not as
the KJV or as the Pharisees took it(Mt 19:7), that the man is commanded to do any of this.
Indeed this passage does not even approve of what he does, but instead penalises him for
this action(v4)! This passage does not approve of divorce on the basis of 'a nakedness of a
thing', or on the basis that he 'hates her' (v3)!Therefore any discussion of 'sufficient
grounds for divorce' is made void, even as ‫ יהוה‬has given no approval of this custom on
any grounds. 3 On "the latter man hates her and then": The first verse narrates the
woman's husband's actions because he finds in her 'a nakedness of a thing', and this verse
narrates the latter man's actions on the basis that he 'hates her'. The Pharisaic schools of
Hillel and Shammai took 'a nakedness of a thing' as though ‫ יהוה‬had indicated in this
phrase what was 'sufficient grounds for divorce', and then they argued about what 'a
nakedness of a thing' could mean, whether it be as mild as spoiling the food (Hillel) or as
severe as sexual sin (Shammai). But this latter man divorces because he 'hates her'.
Would either party argue that ‫ יהוה‬had indicated that hatred is 'sufficient grounds for
divorce'? Rather, it is all merely a narrative, without any sanctioning of divorce, or any
restriction until verse 4.
35 15 February 2011 Deuteronomy 24-34

him for a woman 4 he shall not be able4 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

-her husband the first which he sent 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 .

29
her- to return to take her to become for 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
him for a woman after which she has 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 .
caused herself to become defiled, for it
30
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
[is] an abomination5 against the face of 18 19 20 .
‫ יהוה‬and you shall not cause the land to
31
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
sin which ‫ יהוה‬your ʔɛ̯lōhı̄m ̖ gives to you 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
[for] property. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
30 .
17 18 19 20 21 22 .

32
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

25
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
18 19 . 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

26
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
46 47 48 49 50 51 52 .
18 19 .
33
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

27
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 .
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 .
34
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 .
28
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

4 On "he shall not be able": See verse 1's notes regarding this restriction placed on the
husband.] [On "her husband": In this whole narrative, ‫ יהוה‬calls nobody but the first
husband 'her husband'.] [On "she has caused herself to become defiled": This passive
reflexive verb states that she has caused herself to be defiled. She has caused herself to
be defiled by the actions she took in verse 2, which were provoked by her husband's
actions in verse 1. This clearly shows that the second relationship was a defiling sexual
relationship -a form of sexual immorality and not a pure marriage in ‫'יהוה‬s eyes- for her
husband still lived (Rom 7:3). The divorced woman who understands this thus has
opportunity to not be defiled by entering a second relationship. 5 On "it [is] an
abomination": ‫ יהוה‬shows His disapproval of this entire situation, so that His people might
likewise sense the abomination of the defiling sexual relationship between a man's woman
and another man. It is not the taking back of the defiled wife that is abomination, but
rather to do so would be to receive what has been defiled by a defilement which should be
seen as a defilement: the relationship with a man other than her husband. Likewise ‫יהוה‬
has considered His people defiled which have broken faith with Him and whored after
idols (Jer 3:1). And yet, as defiled as they have become from their other lovers, He calls
them back to Himself (Jer 3:12-14), "For I have married you". The first husband is still the
true husband.