The Meaning of Genesis 7:12 Explained

Genesis 7:12

KJV: And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

YLT: and the shower is on the earth forty days and forty nights.

Darby: And the pour of rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

ASV: And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the rain  was upon the earth  forty  days  and forty  nights. 

What does Genesis 7:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 7:1-24 - The Great Flood
What anguish! They climbed the highest story of their towers, then to the hills, but the greedy waters followed them, till the last crag was covered, and all living things in the first homes of human life had perished. Equally sudden and unexpected shall be the days of the Son of Man. See Luke 17:26; 2 Peter 3:7. But what drowns other men only lifts the child of God nearer his home. The waters bear up the ark. When the loftiest refuges of lies and pride are submerged, and the whole landscape is covered with a monotonous waste of trouble, God says to the soul, "Come into the ark." It is as though He is inside and wants us to enter into close fellowship with Himself. See Psalms 27:5. When God shuts the door behind us, no power can force, no skeleton key can unlock, and no wedge can pry the door. For the extent of the Deluge it is appropriate to consider Luke 2:1-3. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 7

1  Noah, his family and the living creatures enter the ark
6  The flood begins
17  The increase of the flood for forty days
21  All flesh is destroyed by it
24  Its duration of 150 days

What do the individual words in Genesis 7:12 mean?

And was the rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights
וַֽיְהִ֥י הַגֶּ֖שֶׁם עַל־ הָאָ֑רֶץ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים לָֽיְלָה

וַֽיְהִ֥י  And  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
הַגֶּ֖שֶׁם  the  rain 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֶּשֶׁם  
Sense: rain, shower.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הָאָ֑רֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
אַרְבָּעִ֣ים  forty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: אַרְבָּעִים  
Sense: forty.
י֔וֹם  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים  and  forty 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, common plural
Root: אַרְבָּעִים  
Sense: forty.
לָֽיְלָה  nights 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.