In Your Face (Gen 6:11)

The Flood

Get your free Biblical Hebrew Starter Kit here!

¹¹ The Earth went to ruin, and it was in God’s face. ‏וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לִפְנֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים

Today’s post will zero in on the first word of v. 11, וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת va-tishaḥet. This — not anything we’ve read so far — is the reason for the Flood. At least, this is the theme root of the introduction to the Flood story. We’ll see it repeated a total of five times in vv. 11–17, and again twice more in Genesis 9’s promise that there will never be another flood. Let’s summarize these appearances of it. Quotation marks indicate God is speaking:

• v. 11 – the earth was שׁחת’d (Niphal)

• v. 12 – God saw that it was שׁחת’d (Niphal)

   - all flesh had שׁחת’d (Hiphil) its way upon the earth

• v. 13 – “I am going to שׁחת (Hiphil) them/the earth”

• v. 17 – “I am going to bring the Flood … to שׁחת (Piel) all flesh”

  …

• 9:11 – “There will never again be a Flood to שׁחת (Piel) the earth”

• 9:15 – “The waters will never again become a Flood to שׁחת (Piel) all flesh”

⇥ See Lesson 15 of my Hebrew course for a refresher on the verb conjugations. ⇤

Whatever these three root letters represent, it can’t be anything good. TDOT says about שׁחת, “The basic meaning of the root cannot be precisely determined.” Let’s look deeper (no flood reference intended). Here are some standard translations of our phrase:

• KJV: The earth also was corrupt before God

• NJPS: The earth became corrupt before God

• NRSV: Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight

I’m seeing a pattern here! שׁחת must mean corrupt. The basic definition of corrupt per the OED:

Perverted from uprightness and fidelity in the discharge of duty; influenced by bribery or the like; venal. Of persons.

Well, this definition refers to corrupt when used “of persons,” and the earth is not a person.

Or is it?