The Meaning of Genesis 7:13 Explained

Genesis 7:13

KJV: In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

YLT: In this self-same day went in Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, sons of Noah, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, unto the ark;

Darby: On the same day went Noah, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

ASV: In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In the selfsame  day  entered  Noah,  and Shem,  and Ham,  and Japheth,  the sons  of Noah,  and Noah's  wife,  and the three  wives  of his sons  with them, into the ark; 

What does Genesis 7:13 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 7:13 mean?

On that very day this entered Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth the sons of Noah and wife of Noah and the three wives of his sons with them into the ark
בְּעֶ֨צֶם הַיּ֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ בָּ֣א נֹ֔חַ וְשֵׁם־ וְחָ֥ם וָיֶ֖פֶת בְּנֵי־ נֹ֑חַ וְאֵ֣שֶׁת נֹ֗חַ וּשְׁלֹ֧שֶׁת נְשֵֽׁי־ בָנָ֛יו אִתָּ֖ם אֶל־ הַתֵּבָֽה

בְּעֶ֨צֶם  On  that  very 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֶצֶם 
Sense: bone, essence, substance.
הַיּ֤וֹם  day 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַזֶּה֙  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
בָּ֣א  entered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
נֹ֔חַ  Noah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נׄחַ  
Sense: son of Lamech, father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth; builder of the ark which saved his family from the destruction of the world which God sent on the world by the flood; became the new seminal head of the human race because his family were the only survivors of the flood.
וְשֵׁם־  and  Shem 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: the eldest son of Noah and progenitor of the Semitic tribes.
וְחָ֥ם  and  Ham 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָם  
Sense: 2nd son of Noah, father of Canaan and of various peoples which were inhabitants of southern lands.
וָיֶ֖פֶת  and  Japheth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יֶפֶת  
Sense: the 3rd son of Noah whose descendants after the flood settled on the coastal lands of the Mediterranean spreading north into Europe and parts of Asia.
בְּנֵי־  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
נֹ֑חַ  of  Noah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נׄחַ  
Sense: son of Lamech, father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth; builder of the ark which saved his family from the destruction of the world which God sent on the world by the flood; became the new seminal head of the human race because his family were the only survivors of the flood.
וְאֵ֣שֶׁת  and  wife 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
נֹ֗חַ  of  Noah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נׄחַ  
Sense: son of Lamech, father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth; builder of the ark which saved his family from the destruction of the world which God sent on the world by the flood; became the new seminal head of the human race because his family were the only survivors of the flood.
וּשְׁלֹ֧שֶׁת  and  the  three 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular construct
Root: מִשְׁלֹשׁ 
Sense: three, triad.
נְשֵֽׁי־  wives 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
בָנָ֛יו  of  his  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אִתָּ֖ם  with  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַתֵּבָֽה  the  ark 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֵּבָה  
Sense: ark.