Noah & Babel Week 3: Hebrew Bible - Assignments - Reading - Resources - Images

GENESIS: Noah and the Ark (Tyndale, 16th century) Reading time: 3 minutes. Word count: 500 words.

And Noe made an aulter vnto the LORDE and toke of all maner of clene beastes and all maner of clene foules and offred sacrifyce vppon the aulter. And the LORDE smellyd a swete savoure and sayd in his hert: I wyll henceforth no more curse the erth for mannes sake for the imagynacion of mannes hert is evell even from the very youth of hym. Morover I wyll not destroy from henceforth all that lyveth as I haue done. Nether shall sowynge tyme and harvest colde and hete somere & wynter daye and nyghte ceasse as longe as the erth endureth.

And God blessed Noe and his sonnes and sayd vnto them: Increase and multiplye and fyll the erth. The feare also and drede of yow be vppon all beastes of the erth and vppon all foules of the ayre ad vppon all that crepeth on the erth and vppon all fyshes of the see which are geven vnto youre handes And all that moveth vppon the erth havynge lyfe shall be youre meate: Euen as ye grene herbes so geue I yow all thynge. Only the flesh with his life which is his bloud se that ye eate not. For verely the bloude of yow wherein youre lyves are wyll I requyre: Eue of the hande of all beastes wyll I requyre it And of the hande of man and of the hand off euery mannes brother wyll I requyre the lyfe of man: so yt he which shedeth mannes bloude shall haue hys bloud shed by man agayne: for God made man after his awne lycknesse. See that ye encrease and waxe and be occupyde vppon the erth & multiplye therein.

Farthermore God spake vnto Noe & to hys sonnes wyth hym saynge: see I make my bod wyth you and youre seed after you and wyth all lyvynge thinge that is wyth you: both foule and catell and all maner beste of the erth that is wyth yow of all that commeth out of the arke what soeuer beste of the erth it be. I make my bonde wyth yow that hence forth all flesh shall not be destroyed wyth yt waters of any floud ad yt hence forth there shall not be a floud to destroy the erth.

And God sayd. This is the token of my bode which I make betwene me and yow ad betwene all lyvynge thyng that is with yow for ever: I wyll sette my bowe in the cloudes and it shall be a sygne of the appoyntment made betwene me and the erth: So that when I brynge in cloudes vpo ye erth the bowe shall appere in ye cloudes. And than wyll I thynke vppon my testament which I haue made betwene me and yow and all that lyveth what soeuer flesh it be. So that henceforth there shall be no more waters to make a floud to destroy all flesh. The bowe shalbe in the cloudes and I wyll loke vpon it to remembre the euerlastynge testament betwene God and all that lyveth vppon the erth what soeuer flesh it be.

And God sayd vnto Noe: This is the sygne of the testament which I have made betwene me and all flesh yt is on the erth.

Questions. Make sure you can answer these questions about what you just read: what kind of offering did Noah make to God? what blessings and promises and commandments did God give to Noah? what is the physical sign of the agreement between God and Noah? Source: William Tyndale's Pentateuch (1530-1534).