Kejadian 6:12

6:12 God saw the earth, and indeed ¹  it was ruined, ²  for all living creatures ³  on the earth were sinful. ⁴ 

Kejadian 7:1

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. ⁵ 

Kejadian 19:4

19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ⁶  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ⁷ 

Kejadian 19:7-9

19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! ⁸  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ⁹  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ¹⁰  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ¹¹  of my roof.” ¹² 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ¹³  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ¹⁴  and now he dares to judge us! ¹⁵  We’ll do more harm ¹⁶  to you than to them!” They kept ¹⁷  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ¹⁸  to break down the door.

[6:12]  ¹ tn Or “God saw how corrupt the earth was.”

[6:12]  ² tn The repetition in the text (see v. 11) emphasizes the point.

[6:12]  ³ tn Heb “flesh.” Since moral corruption is in view here, most modern western interpreters understand the referent to be humankind. However, the phrase “all flesh” is used consistently of humankind and the animals in Gen 6-9 (6:17, 19; 7:15-16, 21; 8:17; 9:11, 15-17), suggesting that the author intends to picture all living creatures, humankind and animals, as guilty of moral failure. This would explain why the animals, not just humankind, are victims of the ensuing divine judgment. The OT sometimes views animals as morally culpable (Gen 9:5; Exod 21:28-29; Jonah 3:7-8). The OT also teaches that a person’s sin can contaminate others (people and animals) in the sinful person’s sphere (see the story of Achan, especially Josh 7:10). So the animals could be viewed here as morally contaminated because of their association with sinful humankind.

[6:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “had corrupted its way.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “way” refers to the collective “all flesh.” The construction “corrupt one’s way” occurs only here (though Ezek 16:47 uses the Hiphil in an intransitive sense with the preposition בְּ [bet, “in”] followed by “ways”). The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) means “to ruin, to destroy, to corrupt,” often as here in a moral/ethical sense. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to behavior or moral character, a sense that it frequently carries (see BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a).

[7:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.

[19:4]  ⁶ tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

[19:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

[19:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”

[19:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[19:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”

[19:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “shadow.”

[19:8]  ¹² sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.

[19:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

[19:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

[19:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”

[19:9]  ¹⁶ tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.

[19:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

[19:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and they drew near.”