Genesis 8:21

Hebrew Bible

20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, even though the inclination of their minds is evil from childhood on. I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done. 22 “While the earth continues to exist, planting time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”

LXX Genesis 8:21

Septuagint

20 And Noe built an altar to God and took of all the clean domestic animals and of all the clean birds and offered whole burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord God smelled an odor of fragrance, and the Lord God, when he had given it thought, said, “I will not proceed hereafter to curse the earth because of the deeds of humans, for the mind of humankind applies itself attentively to evil things from youth; so I will not proceed hereafter to smite all living flesh, as I have done. 22 During all the days of the earth, seed and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring shall not cease— during day and night.”

 Notes and References

"... What God smelled was what the translator used 'a smell of sweet fragrance,' which in turn became the standard phrase throughout the Pentateuch, it occurring especially frequently in Leviticus and Numbers. The Hebrew in speaking of Yahweh states that 'he said to himself.' LXX Gen freely renders the phrase by a participle 'having in mind, intending,' which is not really what MT means ..."

Wevers, John William Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis (p. 111) Scholars Press, 1993

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.