Study Desk

But God remembered^(a) Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth,^(b) and the waters receded.

Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens^(c) had been closed, and the rain^(d) had stopped falling from the sky.

The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days^(e) the water had gone down,

and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month^(f) the ark came to rest on the mountains^(g) of Ararat.^(h)

The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

After forty days⁽ⁱ⁾ Noah opened a window he had made in the ark

and sent out a raven,^(j) and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.^(k)

Then he sent out a dove^(l) to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground.

But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.

He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.

When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth.^(m)

He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year,⁽ⁿ⁾ the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.

By the twenty-seventh day of the second month^(o) the earth was completely dry.

Then God said to Noah,

"Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.^(p)

Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it."^(q)

So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives.^(r)

All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord ^(s) and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean^(t) birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings^(u) on it.

The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma^(v) and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground^(w) because of humans, even though^[a] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.^(x) And never again will I destroy^(y) all living creatures,^(z) as I have done.

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest,^(aa) cold and heat, summer and winter,^(ab) day and night will never cease."^(ac)

God's Covenant With Noah

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.^(a)

The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.^(b)

Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you.^(c) Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.^(d)

"But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.^(e)

And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting.^(f) I will demand an accounting from every animal.^(g) And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.^(h)

"Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed;⁽ⁱ⁾ for in the image of God^(j) has God made mankind.

As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it."^(k)

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:

"I now establish my covenant with you^(l) and with your descendants after you

and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.

I establish my covenant^(m) with you:⁽ⁿ⁾ Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.^(o)"

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant^(p) I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:^(q)

I have set my rainbow^(r) in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow^(s) appears in the clouds,

I will remember my covenant^(t) between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.^(u)

Whenever the rainbow^(v) appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant^(w) between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant^(x) I have established between me and all life on the earth."

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth.^(y) (Ham was the father of Canaan.)^(z)

These were the three sons of Noah,^(aa) and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.^(ab)

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded^[a] to plant a vineyard.

When he drank some of its wine,^(ac) he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.

Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked^(ad) and told his two brothers outside.

But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him,

he said, "Cursed^(ae) be Canaan!^(af) The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.^(ag)"

He also said, "Praise be to the Lord , the God of Shem!^(ah) May Canaan be the slave^(ai) of Shem.

May God extend Japheth's^[b] territory;^(aj) may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,^(ak) and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth."

After the flood Noah lived 350 years.

Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.^(al)

The Table of Nations

This is the account^(a) of Shem, Ham and Japheth,^(b) Noah's sons,^(c) who themselves had sons after the flood.

The Japhethites^(d)

The sons^[a] of Japheth: Gomer,^(e) Magog,^(f) Madai, Javan,^(g) Tubal,^(h) Meshek⁽ⁱ⁾ and Tiras.

The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz,^(j) Riphath and Togarmah.^(k)

The sons of Javan: Elishah,^(l) Tarshish,^(m) the Kittites⁽ⁿ⁾ and the Rodanites.^[b]

(From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)^(o)

The Hamites^(p)

The sons of Ham: Cush,^(q) Egypt, Put^(r) and Canaan.^(s)

The sons of Cush: Seba,^(t) Havilah,^(u) Sabtah, Raamah^(v) and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah: Sheba^(w) and Dedan.^(x)

Cush was the father^[c] of Nimrod,^(y) who became a mighty warrior on the earth.

He was a mighty^(z) hunter^(aa) before the Lord ; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord ."

The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon,^(ab) Uruk,^(ac) Akkad and Kalneh,^(ad) in^[d] Shinar.^[e](ae)

From that land he went to Assyria,^(af) where he built Nineveh,^(ag) Rehoboth Ir,^[f] Calah

and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.

Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,

Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines^(ah) came) and Caphtorites.^(ai)

Canaan^(aj) was the father of Sidon^(ak) his firstborn,^[g](al) and of the Hittites,^(am)

Jebusites,^(an) Amorites,^(ao) Girgashites,^(ap)

Hivites,^(aq) Arkites, Sinites,

Arvadites,^(ar) Zemarites and Hamathites.^(as) Later the Canaanite^(at) clans scattered

and the borders of Canaan^(au) reached from Sidon^(av) toward Gerar^(aw) as far as Gaza,^(ax) and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim,^(ay) as far as Lasha.

These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

The Semites^(az)

Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was^[h] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.^(ba)

The sons of Shem: Elam,^(bb) Ashur,^(bc) Arphaxad,^(bd) Lud and Aram.^(be)

The sons of Aram: Uz,^(bf) Hul, Gether and Meshek.^[i]

Arphaxad was the father of^[j] Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber.^(bg)

Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg,^[k] because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

Hadoram, Uzal,^(bh) Diklah,

Obal, Abimael, Sheba,^(bi)

Ophir,^(bj) Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.

These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

These are the clans of Noah's sons,^(bk) according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth^(bl) after the flood.

The Tower of Babel

Now the whole world had one language^(a) and a common speech.

As people moved eastward,^[a] they found a plain in Shinar^[b](b) and settled there.

They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks^(c) and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone,^(d) and tar^(e) for mortar.

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens,^(f) so that we may make a name^(g) for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered^(h) over the face of the whole earth."⁽ⁱ⁾

But the Lord came down^(j) to see the city and the tower the people were building.

The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language^(k) they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

Come, let us^(l) go down^(m) and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."⁽ⁿ⁾

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth,^(o) and they stopped building the city.

That is why it was called Babel^[c](p)—because there the Lord confused the language^(q) of the whole world.^(r) From there the Lord scattered^(s) them over the face of the whole earth.

This is the account^(u) of Shem's family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father^[d] of Arphaxad.^(v)

And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.^(w)

And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.^[e]

When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.^(x)

And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.^(y)

And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.^(z)

And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.^(aa)

And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.^(ab)

And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.^(ac)

And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram,^(ad) Nahor^(ae) and Haran.^(af)

This is the account^(ag) of Terah's family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor^(ah) and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.^(ai)

While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans,^(aj) in the land of his birth.

Abram and Nahor^(ak) both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai,^(al) and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah;^(am) she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah.

Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.^(an)

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot^(ao) son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law^(ap) Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans^(aq) to go to Canaan.^(ar) But when they came to Harran,^(as) they settled there.

Terah^(at) lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.