Biblical Hebrew Forum

["B. M. Rocine" <brocine AT twcny.rr.com>]

B-Haverim,

Gen 6:13  kets kol basar ba' lepanay
"an end of all flesh has come before me"

Generally the idiom "labo' lepaney" refers to having an audience, as 
with a king or YHWH.  Occasionally it refers to leading a military force 
into battle.  Gen 6:13 is different in that it is the only time the 
idiom has a thing rather than a person as subject, specifically _kets 
kol basar_.

So I take it to mean *the idea* of annihilation gained an audience with 
YHWH, that is "came to his mind," right?

I note that the cause of annihilation is not specified.  Might the 
expression leave open the possibility that annihilation was about to be 
caused by man's own violence (apart from the flood)?  In other words, 
there is a *possibility* that the clause quoted above refers to YHWH's 
intuition that all life was about to end as a result of man's violence.  
Is that right? 

I think it's an interesting question because the supplicant who gains 
audience before a great power typically does so as a means of gaining 
salvation.  Perhaps the Hebrew gives greater voice than our extant 
English translations to the idea that YHWH was intervening in an emergency.

Shalom,
Bryan

--
B.M. Rocine
Living Word Church
6101 Court St. Rd.
Syracuse, NY 13206
W:  (315) 437-6744