Genesis 7:18-20

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 7:18 tn Heb “and the waters were great and multiplied exceedingly.” The first verb in the sequence is וַיִּגְבְּרוּ (vayyigb^eru, from גָּבַר, gavar), meaning “to become great, mighty.” The waters did not merely rise; they “prevailed” over the earth, overwhelming it.
2. Genesis 7:18 tn Heb “went.”
3. Genesis 7:19 tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.
4. Genesis 7:19 tn Heb “and.”
5. Genesis 7:20 tn Heb “rose 15 cubits.” Since a cubit is considered by most authorities to be about 18 inches, this would make the depth 22.5 feet. This figure might give the modern reader a false impression of exactness, however, so in the translation the phrase “15 cubits” has been rendered “more than 20 feet.”
6. Genesis 7:20 tn Heb “the waters prevailed 15 cubits upward and they covered the mountains.” Obviously, a flood of 20 feet did not cover the mountains; the statement must mean the flood rose about 20 feet above the highest mountain.