Genesis 9:11-13

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 9:11 tn The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).
2. Genesis 9:11 tn Heb “all flesh.”
3. Genesis 9:11 tn Heb “cut off.”
4. Genesis 9:11 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
5. Genesis 9:12 tn Heb “sign.”
6. Genesis 9:12 sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.
7. Genesis 9:12 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
8. Genesis 9:12 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
9. Genesis 9:12 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (ʿolam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
10. Genesis 9:13 tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).
11. Genesis 9:13 sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.
12. Genesis 9:13 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.