(א) וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִ֖ישׁ מִבֵּ֣ית לֵוִ֑י וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־בַּת־לֵוִֽי׃ (ב) וַתַּ֥הַר הָאִשָּׁ֖ה וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֑ן וַתֵּ֤רֶא אֹתוֹ֙ כִּי־ט֣וֹב ה֔וּא וַֽתִּצְפְּנֵ֖הוּ שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יְרָחִֽים׃ (ג) וְלֹא־יָכְלָ֣ה עוֹד֮ הַצְּפִינוֹ֒ וַתִּֽקַּֽח־לוֹ֙ תֵּ֣בַת גֹּ֔מֶא וַתַּחְמְרָ֥הֿ בַחֵמָ֖ר וּבַזָּ֑פֶת וַתָּ֤שֶׂם בָּהּ֙ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד וַתָּ֥שֶׂם בַּסּ֖וּף עַל־שְׂפַ֥ת הַיְאֹֽר׃ (ד) וַתֵּתַצַּ֥ב אֲחֹת֖וֹ מֵרָחֹ֑ק לְדֵעָ֕ה מַה־יֵּעָשֶׂ֖ה לֽוֹ׃
(1) A certain member of the house of Levi went and took [into his household as his wife] a woman of Levi. (2) The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw how beautiful he was, she hid him for three months. (3) When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him and caulked it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. (4) And his sister stationed herself at a distance, to learn what would befall him.
(א) וַֽיְהִ֥י כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ שָׂפָ֣ה אֶחָ֑ת וּדְבָרִ֖ים אֲחָדִֽים׃ (ב) וַֽיְהִ֖י בְּנׇסְעָ֣ם מִקֶּ֑דֶם וַֽיִּמְצְא֥וּ בִקְעָ֛ה בְּאֶ֥רֶץ שִׁנְעָ֖ר וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּ שָֽׁם׃ (ג) וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֗הוּ הָ֚בָה נִלְבְּנָ֣ה לְבֵנִ֔ים וְנִשְׂרְפָ֖ה לִשְׂרֵפָ֑ה וַתְּהִ֨י לָהֶ֤ם הַלְּבֵנָה֙ לְאָ֔בֶן וְהַ֣חֵמָ֔ר הָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם לַחֹֽמֶר׃ (ד) וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ הָ֣בָה ׀ נִבְנֶה־לָּ֣נוּ עִ֗יר וּמִגְדָּל֙ וְרֹאשׁ֣וֹ בַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנַֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּ֖נוּ שֵׁ֑ם פֶּן־נָפ֖וּץ עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כׇל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ה) וַיֵּ֣רֶד יְהֹוָ֔ה לִרְאֹ֥ת אֶת־הָעִ֖יר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֥י הָאָדָֽם׃ (ו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהֹוָ֗ה הֵ֣ן עַ֤ם אֶחָד֙ וְשָׂפָ֤ה אַחַת֙ לְכֻלָּ֔ם וְזֶ֖ה הַחִלָּ֣ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת וְעַתָּה֙ לֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ (ז) הָ֚בָה נֵֽרְדָ֔ה וְנָבְלָ֥ה שָׁ֖ם שְׂפָתָ֑ם אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁמְע֔וּ אִ֖ישׁ שְׂפַ֥ת רֵעֵֽהוּ׃ (ח) וַיָּ֨פֶץ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֹתָ֛ם מִשָּׁ֖ם עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כׇל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיַּחְדְּל֖וּ לִבְנֹ֥ת הָעִֽיר׃ (ט) עַל־כֵּ֞ן קָרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ בָּבֶ֔ל כִּי־שָׁ֛ם בָּלַ֥ל יְהֹוָ֖ה שְׂפַ֣ת כׇּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וּמִשָּׁם֙ הֱפִיצָ֣ם יְהֹוָ֔ה עַל־פְּנֵ֖י כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ {פ}
(1) Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words. (2) And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. (3) They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard.”—Brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar.— (4) And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; else we shall be scattered all over the world.” (5) יהוה came down to look at the city and tower that humanity had built, (6) and יהוה said, “If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach. (7) Let us, then, go down and confound their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another’s speech.” (8) Thus יהוה scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. (9) That is why it was called Babel, because there יהוה confounded the speech of the whole earth; and from there יהוה scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
(י) וְעֵ֣מֶק הַשִּׂדִּ֗ים בֶּֽאֱרֹ֤ת בֶּאֱרֹת֙ חֵמָ֔ר וַיָּנֻ֛סוּ מֶֽלֶךְ־סְדֹ֥ם וַעֲמֹרָ֖ה וַיִּפְּלוּ־שָׁ֑מָּה וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִ֖ים הֶ֥רָה נָּֽסוּ׃
(10) Now the Valley of Siddim was dotted with bitumen pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, in their flight, threw themselves into them, while the rest escaped to the hill country.
BITUMEN:
By: Morris Jastrow, Jr., Ira Maurice Price
A substance said (in Gen. xi. 3) to have been used for mortar. It belongs to the class of hydrocarbons, and is a resultant from petroleum, after having gradually undergone evaporation and oxidation. The continuation of this process upon this mineral tar produces the asphalt so abundant at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Indeed, this material gave that sea the name of the asphaltic lake (Asphaltites Lacus). Deposits of this substance are found in many parts of the world, and almost always in close proximity to bitumen springs. The best known among those in the East to-day are at Hît, not far from the site of ancient Babylon. This bitumen was used in coating and thus in increasing the durability of sun-dried bricks, and for various other useful purposes. Hull thinks that the bitumen in the basin of the Dead Sea is probably derived from the bituminous limestones of the Cretaceous series, and that it reaches the surface through fissures in the rock. Of slight commercial importance, the springs of Hît are still used by the native boat-builders.
† I. חָמַר vb. ferment, boil or foam up (Arabic خَمَرَ ferment, leaven, خُمْرَةٌ, خَمِيرَةٌ, n. leaven; v. LagBN 207);—
Qal Pf. 3 ms. וְיַיִן ח׳ ψ 75:9 and wine which foams, (others from IV. חמר be red); 3 pl. חָֽמְרוּ is suggested by We as poss. Hb 3:15 (for MT חֹמֶר q.v.) the great waters foamed; Impf. 3 mpl. יֶהֱמוּ יֶחְמְרוּ מֵימָיו ψ 46:4 let its water roar and foam. Peʿalʿal Pf. pass. 3 pl. מֵעַי חֳמַרְמָ֑רוּ La 1:20 my bowels are in a ferment (‖ נֶהְפַּךְ לִבִּי), of distress at calamities of Jerus.; so חֳמַרְמְרוּ מֵעַי La 2:11.—Jb 16:16 v. IV. חמר.
† חֶ֫מֶר n.[m.] wine (poet.) (Aramaic ܚܰܡܪܳܐ, חַמְרָא; Arabic خَمْرٌ, v. LagBN 207)—וְדַם־עֵנָב תִּשְׁתֶּה־חָ֑מֶר Dt 32:14; כֶּרֶם חֶמֶר Is 27:2, but read here כֶּרֶם חֶמֶד (v. הֶמֶד).
† חֵמָר n.[m.] bitumen, asphalt (from I. חמר according to OBlauZMG 1869, 279, bitumen as seething, swelling up; Thes MV, from IV. חמר, with ref. to reddish-brown colour)—חֵמָר Gn 11:3 + 2 times; used for cement in building Babel Gn 11:3 (J); abounding in vale of Siddim בֶּאֱרֹת בֶּאֱרֹת ח׳ Gn 14:10; used in coating Moses’ ‘ark’ of bulrushes Ex 2:3 (E; ‖ זָ֑פֶת).
† I. חֹ֫מֶר n.m. cement, mortar, clay;—ח׳ abs. Gn 11:3 + 13 times; cstr. Is 10:6 + 2 times;—
1. mortar, cement for holding building-stones (brick) together Gn 11:3 (J), Ex 1:14 (P; both ‖ לְבֵנִים); Na 3:14 (‖ טיט).
2. clay: a. as material of vessels Je 18:4, 6, ח׳ היצר Is 29:16, in sim. of God’s fashioning man Is 45:9; 64:7; Jb 10:9; as material of human bodies בָּתֵּי ח׳ Jb 4:19 cf. 33:6; as material of bulwarks (disparagingly) Jb 13:12; ח׳ חותם = seal-clay i.e. clay upon which seal is pressed. b. = mire ח׳ חוצות Is 10:6; הֹרַנִי לַח׳ Jb 30:19 he hath cast me into the mire, i.e. deeply humiliated me (עָפָר and אֵפֶר in ‖ cl.); as sim. of commonness, abundance Jb 27:16 (‖ עָפָר); Is. 41:25.
† II. [חָמַר] vb.denom. cover or smear with asphalt, only
Qal Impf. 3 fs. sf. וַתַּחְמְרָה Ex 2:3 (E); on form of sf. v. Ges§ 58, 3, R. 1.
III. חמר (√ of foll.; NH חָמַר heap up; Aramaic חַמֵּר make a ruin-heap; Arabic حِمَارَةٌ great mass of stone, heap of stones).
II. חֹ֫מֶר n.[m.] heap (cf. i. חֲמוֹר)—ח׳ cstr. ח׳ מַיִם רַבִּים Hb 3:15 a heap of great waters (‖ יָם)—but text dub., v. I. חמר; pl. חֳמָרִים חֳמָרִים Ex 8:10 (J), of dead frogs gathered in heaps.
† III. חֹ֫מֶר n.m. homer, a dry measure (perhaps from above √, but dub.; cf. Assyrian amâru, surround, contain, ii. R 36:19 a. b Strm4760, imêru, a measure ZimBP 6 n)—ח׳ abs. Is 5:10 + 5 times Ez; cstr. Ho 3:2 + 3 times; pl. הֳמָרִים Nu 11:32;—ח׳ of barley Ho 3:2; Ez 45:13, cf. זֶרַע ח׳ שְׂעֹרִים Lv 27:16 i.e. land on which a ח׳ of barley seed was sown (taxed at 50 shekels); ח׳ of wheat Ez 45:13; in gen. זֶרַע ח׳ Is 5:10; = 10 ephahs (or baths, v. בַּת sub בתת) Ez 45:11(×3), 14(×2) (in v 14 del. Co); on actual size of ח׳, = 393.9 litres, v. Hultzsch Metrol. 2nd ed. 448, 452 f.. See further ii. בַּת and reff., BenzArch. 183 f. NowArch. i, 203 f.
† I. חֲמוֹר n.[m.] heap, abs. ח׳ with du. חֲמֹרָתָ֑יִם (Baer חֲמֹרֹת׳), as if from חֲמֹרָה;—בִּלְחִי הַחֲמוֹר חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָ֑יִם Ju 15:16 with the ass’s jawbone, a heap, two heaps, i.e. so many slain.
חֲמֹרֹתָ֑יִם v. i. חֲמוֹר.
† IV. [חמר] vb. be red (Arabic حَمَرَ ii. dye red, حُمْرَةٌ redness, reddish brown (appar. skin-colour) so Thes MV BaNB 192 al.)—only Peʿalʿal Pf. pass. פָּנַי חֳמַרְמְרֻ֯ה Jb 16:16 my face is reddened from weeping.—La 1:20; 2:11 v. I. חמר.
† II. חֲמוֹר n.m. Gn 45:23 (he)-ass (NH id. (sometimes female, but this regularly חֲמוֹרָה); Aramaic חֲמָרָא, ܚܡܳܪܳܐ; Arabic حِمَارٌ, Palm. חמרא ReckendorfZMG 1888, 404; Assyrian imêru, SchrCOT Gloss.;—name from reddish colour)—abs. חֲמוֹר Gn 22:5 + 43 times; חֲמֹר Ex 13:13 Dt 22:10; cstr. חֲמוֹר Ex 23:5 + 4 times; חֲמֹר Gn 49:14; sf. חֲמֹרְךָ Dt 5:14; 28:31; חֲמֹרֶ֑ךָ Ex 23:12; חֲמֹרוֹ Gn 22:3 + 8 times; pl. חֲמוֹרִים Ju 19:10 + 9 times; חֲמֹרִים Gn 12:16 + 16 times; sf. חֲמוֹרֵינוּ Ju 19:19; חֲמֹרֵינוּ Gn 43:18; חֲמוֹרֵיכֶם 1 S 8:16; חֲמֹרֵיהֶם Gn 34:28 + 4 times; חֲמוֹרֵיהֶם Jos 9:4;—ass (he-ass; אתון = she-ass) found in all periods (coll. only Gn 32:6 Is 21:7);—
1. as (valuable) property, with oxen, sheep, camels, slaves, etc. Gn 12:16; 24:35; 30:43; 47:17 Ex 9:3 (all J) Ex 20:17 (E), 21:23; 22:3, 8, 9; 23:4, 5, 12; Nu 16:15; Jos 6:21; 7:24 (all JE); note also Ex 13:13 = 34:20 (JE; firstlings belongs to י׳); Gn 36:24; Nu 31:28, 30, 34, 39, 45 (all P); Dt 5:14, 18; 22:3, 4; 28:31; Ju 6:4; 1 S 8:16; 12:3; 15:3; 22:19; 27:9; 1 Ch 5:21 Ezr 2:67 = Ne 7:68 (Baer), Zc 14:15; coll. Gn 32:5 (J; ‖ שׁוֹר, צֹאן, עֶבֶד, שִׁפְחָה), but pl. (similar ‖) Gn 34:28 (P), 47:17 (J); cf. also ח׳ יְתוֹמִים 24:3 the orphans’ ass (‖ שׁוֹר אַלְמָנָה); as knowing its master’s crib Is 1:3 (‖ שׁוֹר); found in camp 2 K 7:7, 10 (both ‖ סוּסִים); as harnessed מֶתֶג לַח׳ Pr 26:3 (‖ סוּם).
2. used for riding: a. by women Ex 4:20 (J), Jos 15:18 (JE) = Ju 1:14; 1 S 25:20, 23, 42, cf. 2 Ch 28:15. b. by men 2 S 16:2; 17:23; 19:27; 1 K 2:40; 13:13(×2), 23, 24, 27, 28(×2) Is 21:7; Zc 9:9. c. צֶמֶד חמורים a pair of asses 2 S 16:1 (for burdens and for riding); for man and woman Ju 19:3, 10, 19, 21; carrying dead body v 28, cf. ח׳ 1 K 13:29.
3. beast of burden Gn 22:3, 5 (cf. v 6), 42:26, 27; 45:23 (all E) 43:18, 24; 44:3, 13 (all J), Jos 9:4 (JE), 1 S 25:18; 1 Ch 12:41; Ne 13:15 (cf. also צֶמֶד ח׳ 2 S 16:1 supr.); metaph. of Issachar ח׳ גָּ֑רֶם Gn 49:14 (poem), an ass of (strong) bones.—ח׳ לֶחֶם 1 S 16:20 read prob. חֲמִשָּׁה five, or better עֲשָׂרָה ten, v. We Dr.
4. used in tillage Is 32:20; not to be used in ploughing with an ox (שׁוֹר) Dt 22:10.
5. parts of body of ass mentioned are: לְחִי ח׳ Ju 15:15, 16 jawbone, Samson’s weapon; רֹאשׁ ח׳ 2 K 6:25 eaten in famine; בְּשַׂר ח׳ Ez 23:20 genital organ of ass (contempt. sim.)
6. קְבוּרַת ח׳ Je 22:19 burial of an ass, in fig. of ignominious treatment of a corpse. Also she-ass 2 S 19:27 (cf. Mishn. AZ. vi).
† III. חֲמוֹר n.pr.m. father of Shechem (he-ass; v. RSK 220; Sem i. 449)—Gn 33:19; 34:2, 4, 6, 8, 13, 18(×2), 20, 24, 26; Jos 24:32; Ju 9:28.
† חַמְרָן n.pr.m. 1 Ch 1:41 (= חֶמְדָּן Gn 36:26 q.v.)
† יַחְמוּר n.[m.] roebuck (Sam. יחמור, Syriac ܝܰܚܡܘܽܪܳܐ, 𝔗 יַחְמוּרָא v. HomNS 392 (and 333), LagBN 127; name from reddish colour?)—as edible Dt 14:5; 1 K 5:3;—on identif. with roebuck, v. TristrProc. Zool. Soc. London, May 2, 1876 Conder Tent Work, 1887, p. 91.
(יא) וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לִפְנֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ חָמָֽס׃ (יב) וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְהִנֵּ֣ה נִשְׁחָ֑תָה כִּֽי־הִשְׁחִ֧ית כׇּל־בָּשָׂ֛ר אֶת־דַּרְכּ֖וֹ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ {ס} (יג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֜ים לְנֹ֗חַ קֵ֤ץ כׇּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֣א לְפָנַ֔י כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָ֛רֶץ חָמָ֖ס מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וְהִנְנִ֥י מַשְׁחִיתָ֖ם אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (יד) עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־גֹ֔פֶר קִנִּ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֶת־הַתֵּבָ֑ה וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֛הּ מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃ (טו) וְזֶ֕ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֖ה אֹתָ֑הּ שְׁלֹ֧שׁ מֵא֣וֹת אַמָּ֗ה אֹ֚רֶךְ הַתֵּבָ֔ה חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים אַמָּה֙ רׇחְבָּ֔הּ וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים אַמָּ֖ה קוֹמָתָֽהּ׃ (טז) צֹ֣הַר ׀ תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַתֵּבָ֗ה וְאֶל־אַמָּה֙ תְּכַלֶּ֣נָּה מִלְמַ֔עְלָה וּפֶ֥תַח הַתֵּבָ֖ה בְּצִדָּ֣הּ תָּשִׂ֑ים תַּחְתִּיִּ֛ם שְׁנִיִּ֥ם וּשְׁלִשִׁ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶֽׂהָ׃
(11) The earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness. (12) When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth, (13) God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with lawlessness because of them: I am about to destroy them with the earth. (14) Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make it an ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. (15) This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. (16) Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and terminate it within a cubit of the top. Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with bottom, second, and third decks.
GOPHER-WOOD:
By: Emil G. Hirsch, Henry Hyvernat
The material of which the ark of Noah was made. The word "gofer" occurs but once in the Bible, viz., in the expression (Gen. vi. 14). A comparison of the ancient versions shows that the word was just as obscure when they were made as it is to-day.
The renderings proposed by modern interpreters are as a rule arbitrary and unsatisfactory. The identification of "gofer" with "cypress" (Celsius, "Hierobotanicon," i. 328; Bochart, "Geographia Sacra," ii. 4) rests on the mere assumption that the roots of these two words are akin. According to P. de Lagarde, "gofer" stands for "gofrit," meaning originally "pine," from old Bactrian "vohukereti," and latter also "sulfur," on account of the likeness in appearance which sulfur bears to pine-resin ("Semitica," i. 64; comp. "Symmicta," ii. 93, and "Uebersicht über die im Aramäischen, Arabischen und Hebräischen Uebliche Bildung der Nomina," p. 218).
Others think that "gofer" can best be explained from the Assyro-Babylonian literature. Cheyne, starting from the assumption that the Hebrew narrative of the Deluge is a mere translation from some similar Babylonian document, supposes that the passage under discussion read in the original "gushure iṣ erini" (cedar-beams). He thinks that first the word "erini" was overlooked by the Hebrew translator, who afterward mistook "gushure" for a tree-name, and accordingly wrote ; next a scribe, whose eye was caught by at the end of the verse, miswrote (Stade's "Zeitschrift," 1898, p. 163; comp. Cheyne and Black, "Encyc. Bibl." s.v.). F. Hommel holds the Hebrew to be the Assyrian "giparu" (reed).
The "kufa" (Arabic, "kufr" = Hebr. "kofer" = "gofer") now in use on the rivers and canals of the land that gave birth to the Hebrew narrative of the Deluge are made of willow-branches, palm-leaves, etc., closely interwoven like basket-work, with a coat of bitumen on the inside. This is evidently a very old type of water-craft, suggested by the natural resources of a land devoid of large trees suitable for ship-building, but having an abundance of lighter material and bitumen. Such must have been the ark of Noah (Hastings, "Dict. Bible," s.v. "Babylonia"). J. Halévy implicitly adopts the same view ("Recherches Bibliques," i. 130).
The reading of the Masoretic text is correct, at least in the consonants. It is none the less certain that in course of time the Assyrian (whether first Hebraized "gefer" or "gofer") became obscure to the Hebrews. This might have necessitated the addition of an explicative clause with a Hebrew word as a substitute for , viz., . This, when the Hebrews had become familiar with the Phenician methods of ship-building, came by degrees to be considered as an absurdity, and was altered into , much against the usage of the Hebrew language and in violation of the most elementary rules of composition, yet seemingly quite in agreement with the early Jewish methods of emendation.
For passages of the Bible supporting, though only indirectly, the identification of "gofer" with "reed," see the Bible commentaries to Ex. ii. 3, Isa. xviii. 2, and Job xi. 26, and the Hebrew lexicons' s.v. and . See also Papyrus; Reed; Ship and Shipping.