flood

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “flood” in English is translated in the German Luther Bible as Sintflut and the influential Dutch Bibles Statenvertaling and Nieuwe Vertaling as zondvloed. Both terms originally mean “great / permanent flood” but have folk-etymologically been reinterpreted as “sin flood” (“sin” in Dutch is zonde and in German Sünde).

Today these terms are used in either language figuratively as well (“a lot of water” or “a lot”). (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

See also Translation commentary on Genesis 6:17.

complete verse (Genesis 7:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 7:17:

  • Kankanaey: “The rain continued to rain-hard-and-rain-hard for forty days and nights while-meanwhile the water got-larger until the ark floated.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “For forty days the rain and flood kept coming. And the water rose [lit.: became high], the ship was borne [lit.: sent] upwards.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “(It) kept-on/continued raining on the earth for [lit. inside of] 40 days. The waters went-up until the ship floated.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “It rained for 40 days and nights, and the flood increased. It flooded until the water lifted the boat above the ground.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 7:17

The flood continued forty days upon the earth: the Handbook understands that forty days in this verse is a repetition of that phrase in verses 4 and 12. If the translator makes no effort to equate this period with the last mention of forty days (verse 12), the reader will not be greatly troubled. However, the initial forty days of rain is what causes the boat to float, and that is what is understood in this verse. This is the period of time when the water level was rising; it is not the total length of time that the flood remained on the earth. If the language of translation has a device to equate the forty days in verse 17 to the forty days in verse 12, that solution is recommended. If not, Mundhenk suggests saying “The rain and flood kept on for forty days.” The use of “rain” is to link verse 17 back to verse 12, where it is “rain” that causes the flood.

There are three statements made in the second part of the verse, and in Hebrew each begins with the connective rendered and by Revised Standard Version. Translators should examine carefully the best way to relate these three clauses to each other.

The first of these is and the waters increased. Increased translates a verb meaning to become great or many in reference to people, animals, or things. In relation to water the sense is to become very deep. In the following verses the word is used together with “prevail,” to draw a poetic picture of the great and powerful force of the flood. This clause is commonly translated “the water rose more and more” or “… higher and higher.”

The second statement is and bore up the ark, where bore is the past tense form of the English verb “to bear,” meaning to lift or carry. In relation to a boat we may say “and made the boat float” or “and floated the boat.”

The third statement, and it rose high above the earth, means that the boat rose on the water as the water grew deeper over the land. High above the earth is not a point of view from the land looking up toward the sky, but rather from the submerged land looking up through the water. Giving a slightly different picture, one translation expresses this movement as “the boat let go of the earth [or, ground].”

We may translate the three statements, for example, “As the flood rose, the boat was lifted up and floated high on the surface of the water above the ground” or “The flood became very deep, and so the water lifted the boat above the ground and made it float.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .