Genesis 7

1 Then the LORD [Yehovah, the self-existent God] said to Noah, “Go [come, enter] into the ark [the vessel of salvation], you [as a righteous man] and all [every member of] your family [household], because I have found [seen, regarded] you [as an individual] righteous [just, upright] in this generation [age, period of time]. word study 2 You are to take with you seven [by sevens, in groups of seven] pairs of every kind of clean [pure, ceremonially acceptable] animal, a male [man, individual] and its mate [female, companion]; a pair [two, a couple] of every kind of unclean [not pure, unacceptable] animal, a male and its mate [female, companion]; word study 3 and seven [by sevens, in groups of seven] pairs of every kind of bird [fowl, flying creatures] of the air [heaven, sky], male [masculine, male species] and female [feminine species], to preserve [keep alive, save] their offspring [seed, descendants] on the face [surface, presence] of all [the entire, whole] the earth [land, ground]. word study 4 For [in view of this, because of what is to come] seven days from now I will send [cause to come down, pour out] rain [a deluge, heavy showers] on the earth [the land, the ground] for forty days and forty [a period of testing, trial] nights, and I will wipe [completely destroy, erase] from the face [presence, sight] of the earth [the ground, the land] every living thing [existence, creature, being] I have made [created, formed, brought into existence].” word study 5 And Noah [the patriarch, a righteous man] did [carried out, fulfilled] all [everything, without exception] that [which, in accordance with] the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] had commanded [given orders, instructed] him [as his servant, obediently]. word study 6 Now Noah [the patriarch, son of Lamech] was 600 [six hundred] years old [a period of time, a span of life] when the floodwaters [a massive flood, deluge of waters] came upon [on, above] the earth [the land, ground, terrestrial sphere]. word study 7 And Noah [the patriarch, a righteous man] and his wife, with his sons [his male descendants] and their wives [the women married to them], entered [went into, stepped aboard] the ark [a vessel of salvation, a place of refuge] to escape [flee from, be saved from] the waters [the floodwaters, the deluge] of the flood [a catastrophic inundation, a judgment from God]. word study 8 The clean [pure, ceremonially acceptable] and unclean [not pure, unacceptable for sacrifice] animals [beasts, large quadruped mammals], the birds [fowl, creatures that fly], and everything [all creatures, every living thing] that crawls [creeps, moves lightly] along the ground [upon the earth, on the land] word study 9 came [in pairs, two by two] to Noah to enter [go into, board] the ark [a vessel of safety, the tebáh], two by two, male [the masculine] and female [the feminine], as God [Elohim, the supreme Ruler] had commanded [given orders to, appointed] Noah. word study 10 And after [it came to pass, following] seven days [a literal 24-hour period or a figurative space of time] the floodwaters [waters of the deluge, a massive flood] came [swept over, overflowed] upon [on or above, covering] the earth [the land, the material world, the ground]. word study 11 In the six [hundred, a period of time] hundredth year [like when Abraham was 100 years old] of Noah’s [the patriarch who built the ark] life, on the seventeenth day of the second [again, or another] month, all [everything, the entirety] the fountains [springs, sources of satisfaction] of the great [many, or a chief] deep [the abyss, or the subterranean water supply] burst forth [to break up or open, like a door or a wall], and the floodgates [windows, or lattices] of the heavens [the sky, or the visible universe, and the abode of God] were opened [to engrave or carve, like the intricate carvings on the furniture of the tabernacle]. word study 12 And the rain [a refreshing downpour from the sky, shower] fell upon [on, above] the earth [land, ground] for forty [a significant period of time] days [a literal 24-hour period, a figurative space of time] and forty [a significant period of time] nights [a period of darkness, adversity]. word study 13 On that very day [the selfsame day, in the same time frame] Noah [the patriarch, a righteous man] entered [went into, came aboard] the ark [a vessel of salvation, the tebáh], along with his sons [descendants, male children] Shem [the eldest son, a Semitic ancestor], Ham [a son, associated with southern lands], and Japheth [a son, father of many nations], and his wife [his female partner, a woman], and the three [a specific quantity, thrice] wives [female partners, women] of his sons [male children, descendants]— word study 14 they [the ones who were chosen] and every kind of wild animal [including beasts and livestock], livestock [cattle and domesticated creatures], crawling creature [every creeping thing that moves upon the earth], bird [every fowl and winged creature], and winged creature [every bird of every sort, having wings to fly]. word study 15 They came [went in, entered] to Noah [the patriarch, namesake of salvation] to enter [go into, board] the ark [vessel of salvation, refuge], two [in pairs, a dual unity] by two [a perfect complement] of every [all, each] creature [living being, flesh] with [possessing, characterized by] the breath [spirit, life-giving essence] of life [vitality, existence]. word study 16 And they entered [male and female of all flesh], the male [emphasizing their importance] and female [referring to women or female animals] of every living thing [all creatures, including animals], as God [Elohim, the supreme God] had commanded [given orders, appointed] Noah [the one who found favor]. Then the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] shut [closed, bringing to an end] him in [behind him, for his protection]. word study 17 For forty [a significant period of time, often used for testing or preparation] days the flood [a massive, catastrophic deluge] kept coming on the earth [the land, the physical world], and the waters [the liquid, a source of refreshment] rose and lifted [to exalt, to raise up] the ark [a vessel of salvation, a place of refuge] high above the earth [far above the ground, in a safe position]. word study 18 So the waters [prevailed, increased greatly] continued to surge and rise greatly [exceedingly, very much] on the earth [land, ground], and the ark [vessel, boat] floated [went, moved] on the surface [face, presence] of the waters [liquid, source of refreshment]. word study 19 Finally, the waters completely [completely overwhelming, prevailing exceedingly] inundated [overcame, rose very high on] the earth [land, ground], so that all [every, the whole] the high [elevated, lofty] mountains [hills, spiritual high points] under [beneath, underneath] all [every, the whole] the heavens [sky, visible universe] were covered [filled up, hidden from view]. word study 20 The waters [prevailing, rising higher] rose and covered [to hide from view, overwhelming] the mountaintops [the highest mountains, lofty peaks] to a depth [height, upward measure] of fifteen [ten and five, a significant quantity] cubits [a unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm]. word study 21 And every living thing [all flesh, including animals] that moved upon the earth [the land, the ground] perished [died, expired]—birds [fowl, winged creatures], livestock [cattle, domesticated animals], animals [beasts, wild creatures], every creature [living thing, organism] that swarms [abounds, multiplies] upon the earth [the land, the ground], and all mankind [humanity, every person]. word study 22 Of [everything, all things] all that was on dry [dry ground, land] land, everything [all living creatures, every living thing] that had the [breath of life, spirit of life] breath of life [the spirit of life, the wind of life] in its [nose, nostrils] nostrils died [came to an end, perished]. word study 23 And every living thing [all existence, from man to beast] on the face [presence, surface] of the earth [land, ground] was destroyed [wiped out, blotted out]—man [the first human, Adam] and livestock [animals, cattle], crawling creatures [small moving animals, reptiles] and birds [fowl, winged creatures] of the air [heaven, sky]; they were blotted out [erased, removed] from the earth [land, ground], and only Noah [the patriarch, righteous one] and those with him [in close relationship, near] in the ark [the vessel, place of safety] remained [were left, spared]. word study 24 And the waters [flooded] prevailed upon [above, on top of] the earth [land, ground] for [one hundred and fifty, five months] 150 days [a period of twenty-four hours, a unit of time]. word study