Bible/Genesis/7

Genesis 7:12

7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. windows: or, floodgates
And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

KJV

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It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

What does Genesis 7:12 mean?

Genesis 7:12 is a verse in the book of Genesis, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include גֶּשֶׁם (geshem), אֶרֶץ (ʼerets), אַרְבָּעִים (ʼarbâʻîym). It connects to 8 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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And
the
rainגֶּשֶׁםgeshem/gheh'-shem/H1653a shower
was
upon
the
earthאֶרֶץʼerets/eh'-rets/H776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
fortyאַרְבָּעִיםʼarbâʻîym/ar-baw-eem'/H705forty
daysיוֹםyôwm/yome/H3117a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
and
fortyאַרְבָּעִיםʼarbâʻîym/ar-baw-eem'/H705forty
nights.לַיִלlayil/lah'-yil/H3915properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e. night; figuratively, adversity

Commentary on Genesis 7:12

HENRY_FULL · Genesis 7:7–12
d according unto all that the Lord commanded him. 6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. Here is Noah's ready obedience to the commands that God gave him. Observe, 1. He went into the ark, upon notice that the flood would come after seven days, though probably as yet there appeared no visible sign of its approach, no cloud arising that threatened it, nothing done towards it, but all continued serene and clear; for, as he prepared the ark by faith in the warning given that the flood would come, so he went into it by faith in this warning that it would come quickly, though he did not see that the second causes had yet begun to work. In every step he took, he walked by faith, and not by sense. During these seven days, it is likely, he was settling himself and his family in the ark, and distributing the creatures into their several apartments. This was the conclusion of that visible sermon which he had long been preaching to his careless neighbours, and which, one would think, might have awakened them; but, not obtaining that desired end, it left their blood upon their own heads. 2. He took all his family along with him, his wife, to be his companion and comfort (though it should seem that, after this, he had no children by her), his sons, and his sons' wives, that by them not only his family, but the world of mankind, might be built up. Observe, Though men were to be reduced to so small a number, and it would be very desirable to have the world speedily repeopled, yet Noah's sons were each of them to have but one wife, which strengthens the argument against having many wives; for from the beginning of this new world it was not so: as, at first, God made, so now he kept alive, but one woman for one man. See Matt. xix. 4 , 8 . 3. The brute creatures readily went in with him. The same hand that at first brought them to Adam to be named now brought them to Noah to be preserved. The ox now knew his owner, and the ass his protector's crib, nay, even the wildest creatures flocked to it; but man had become more brutish than the brutes themselves, and did not know, did not consider, Isa. i. 3 . 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 7:4

For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. destroy: Heb. blot out

Genesis 7:17

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

Exodus 24:18

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Deuteronomy 9:9

When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:

Deuteronomy 9:18

And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

Deuteronomy 10:10

And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee. first: or, former days

1 Kings 19:8

And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

Matthew 4:2

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Topics

Rain

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Genesis 7:12.

Numbers 14:34

After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. breach: or, altering of my purpose

Exodus 12:41

And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

Exodus 16:1

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

Genesis 42:13

And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

Genesis 47:28

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. the whole: Heb. the days of the years of his life

Genesis 7:4

For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. destroy: Heb. blot out

Genesis 8:3

And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. continually: Heb. in going and returning

Leviticus 23:39

Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

Frequently asked questions

What does Genesis 7:12 say?

Genesis 7:12 (King James Version) reads: "And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."

Is Genesis 7:12 in the Old or New Testament?

Genesis 7:12 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Genesis.

Who wrote the book of Genesis?

The book of Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses.

Reflect

As you read Genesis 7:12, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

Plan a sermon or study on Genesis 7:12
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