Genesis 6:8

Summary

Genesis 6:8 states that Noah found favor in the eyes of Yehovah. The verse marks a contrast with the preceding context through its opening conjunction, singling out Noah from the general condemnation described earlier.

Key words

• ve ("and", H9002) — conjunction attached to No.ach; here functions to introduce contrast ("but/however") rather than simple addition, a common use of this Hebrew conjunction when placed before a proper name.
• No.ach ("Noah", H5146) — proper name, positioned first in the clause (before the verb), which in Hebrew word order gives emphasis to the subject.
• Ma.tza' ("he found", H4672) — qal perfect, third person masculine singular; the perfect aspect presents this as a completed action, not an ongoing state.
• chen ("favor", H2580) — masculine singular noun, the direct object of Ma.tza'; it names the thing found.
• 'ei.Nei ("eyes of", H5869A) — feminine dual construct form of "eye," grammatically bound to Yehovah that follows; the construct state links it directly to the divine name, producing the idiom "in the eyes of."

What the text says

The Hebrew clause follows the order: conjunction + subject (No.ach) + verb (Ma.tza') + object (chen) + prepositional phrase (be'einei Yehovah). Placing the subject No.ach immediately after the conjunction, before the verb, is a departure from the more common verb-subject order in Hebrew narrative; this fronting draws attention to Noah as the one distinguished within the passage.

The verb Ma.tza' is in the qal perfect, indicating a completed action — Noah's finding of favor is presented as an accomplished fact, not as a process still underway. The object chen ("favor") is a simple masculine singular noun, and the phrase be'einei Yehovah uses the construct form of "eyes" ('ei.Nei) bound to the divine name Yehovah, forming the idiomatic expression "in the eyes of," which in Hebrew denotes perception or judgment attributed to the person named.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the phrase as εὗρεν χάριν κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ("found favor of the Lord God"), using a genitive construction ("favor of the Lord") rather than the Hebrew idiom "in the eyes of." It also adds τοῦ θεοῦ ("God"), a title not present in the Hebrew text at this point, which reads only Yehovah. The Vulgate uses "coram Domino" ("before the Lord"), a prepositional phrase that conveys the sense of being in someone's presence, differing from the literal Hebrew "eyes" image while conveying similar meaning.