The common translations of Genesis 6:6 state that God repented. How can that be?
The Hebrew root that you are referring to is μ3j3n, and the core of the problem is one of translation
only, I think. The English term ‘repent’
has become an important theological term with specific implications that are
not appropriate to this Hebrew word.
The Greek NT has two different words that are
commonly translated by the English term ‘repent’: μεταμελομαι and μετανοεω. As I am sure you are aware, these two words
do not quite mean the same thing. The
first means ‘change one’s mind’ with emphasis on regret; the second also
means ‘change one’s mind,’ and though regret or remorse may be present,
the emphasis is on the change of mind itself.
Both of these verbs are regularly used in the LXX to translate μ3j3n. Mετανοεω is used in both instances
in the LXX text of 1 Sam 15:29, and μεταμελομαι is used in 1 Sam 15:35; but
a totally different verb -- ενθυμεομαι (reflect on, ponder) – is used in Gen
6:6. The same Hebrew root occurs in Gen
6:7, but the LXX again contains a different verb - θυμοω (be very angry). Clearly, the translator of this LXX passage
felt the same conflict that you are expressing.
(The latter two Greek verbs are normally used to translate two other
completely unrelated Hebrew roots.)
Similarly, Hebrew has at least two roots that are
sometimes translated by ‘repent’: μ3j3n and b3w3v. The root b3w3v has the primary meaning of ‘return’ and is
closest to the Semitic idea of ‘repent’, which emphasizes action and
conduct rather than a change in thinking.
Both God and man may be the subject of b3w3v,
and the most common expression of repentance from the Semitic perspective is ‘Return
to Me, and I (YHWH) will return to you.’
In contrast, the root μ3j3n does not correspond to the
modern theological concept of ‘repent’ particularly well, but that is
not a very satisfactory final answer.
The root μ3j3n occurs a little more than
100 times in the Hebrew bible, and more than half of these occur in the niphal stem. BDB lists the following meanings for the
niphal of this root:
·
be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion
(for others, or absolute)
·
be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent (due to
one’s own actions, or absolute)
·
comfort oneself, be comforted (absolute, or
concerning evil)
·
be relieved, ease oneself (by taking
vengeance)
Of these, the second has the
most citations, and BDB lists each of the passages mentioned above under this
category. Differences in specific verbal
form will alter the aspect, but it will not significantly alter the
meaning. Yet, one of these passages says
that God does μ3j3n, and the other says that
God does not. So, what is the
difference?
Gen 6:6,7 – And YHWH regretted that he had made man in the
land, and he was grieved in his heart.
So YHWH said, ‘I will obliterate man whom I created from the face of the
earth – man, beast, creeping things, and the birds in the sky – because I regret that I have made them.
The same root occurs in
these two verses. The first instance is
a 3ms imperfect with the vav-consecutive, and the second is a 1cs perfect. Both have a relative clause introduced by yKi as direct object expressing
the cause of this particular response.
The content of the response is grief or internal pain because of the
actions of an external agent (man), who was the object of God’s creative activity
and his love. Because of this internal
pain, God resolved to undo his original creative act – but not completely. (At this point, God cannot completely obliterate his creation, because he has already
promised that it will be redeemed: Let
every man prove to be a liar, but God must be true.)
1 Sam 15:10,
11 Then the word of YHWH came to Samuel:
‘I regret that I made Saul to reign
as king because he has turned away from me and my words; he has not carried out
(his assignment).’ So Samuel became
angry, and he cried out to YHWH all night long.
This passage contains a 1cs
perfect form and has exactly the same syntactic structure as that in Gen 6:6,
so I take it to have the same meaning.
God’s action was to make Saul king over Israel , and the result was the
disobedience of Saul, who operated as a free agent. God’s response is regret over his original
action. In the previous context, God
mostly obliterated what he had done, so one might expect the same kind of
response here.
1 Sam
15:27-29 And Samuel turned to
go, but he (Saul) grabbed his (Samual's) robe with his hand, and it was
torn. So Samuel said to him, ‘YHWH has
torn the kingdom
of Israel
The question, then, is how to understand the two
occurrences of the root μ3j3n. in this passage. The syntactical arrangement is different from
the previous occurrences because it occurs without any verbal complement. One could assert that the complement – the
judgement on Saul – is implied by context.
Using this interpretive approach, the passage asserts that YHWH has
pronounced his judgement, and he will not change his mind. However, in my opinion this interpretation
neglects the immediately preceding context.
Saul was being judged for failing to completely perform God’s
instructions by keeping back the best of the flocks alive. He may have been prompted by greed, but he
blamed the people he was leading for wanting to keep the best animals, and then
he begged to be excused for dealing falsely with YHWH. I think this understanding is demanded by
these three verses. Unlike Saul, YHWH
does not deal falsely with him or anyone else.
Consequently, he will not excuse one who has dealt falsely with him. Moreover, he will not suffer grief over the
imposition of judgement on Saul, and he will not experience the compassion that
one human might have for another who really is guilty and deserving of
punishment. Interestingly, verse 35
states that Samuel mourned over Saul the rest of his life, but YHWH regretted (μ3j3n) that he had made Saul king over Israel
Now, your wider question is: Does God repent
(meaning change his mind and subsequent actions)? My answer is yes, but the repentance of God
is not like the repentance of humans.
Humans repent when they become convinced that their personal conduct,
speech, thoughts, or intents of heart are at variance with an external standard
that they accept as valid and binding. Believers in
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob accept the Scriptures as that
standard. Believers in Yeshua accept him
as the embodiment of that standard and authoritative interpreter of the
Scriptures. Repentance for a human,
then, involves recognizing one’s personal deviation from the external standard
that he accepts as valid and turning back (b3w3v)
to conformity with that standard. Grief
over past conduct is an appropriate response, but such grief is not equivalent
to repentance. Judas regretted his
betrayal of Yeshua, but he did not repent; Esau regretted not receiving the
blessing of the first born, but again he did not repent. Their lack of true repentance is born out by
their subsequent actions.
Since YHWH is the absolute source for the standard
of right and wrong, he cannot be at variance with himself, so the human pattern
for repentance cannot apply to him. But
God is absolutely just and righteous; so if human conditions demanding
judgement change, his administration of judgement also changes
appropriately. This is stated in a
number of different ways in scripture, but perhaps one example will suffice:
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their deeds, that they had
turned away (b3w3v) from their evil ways, so
God repented (μ3j3n) concerning the calamity
about which he had spoken, and he did not do it.
