Genesis 7:22

Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The narrator records the culmination of the flood judgment, specifying that every creature dwelling on dry land perished while the waters prevailed.

The words — נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים (nishmat chaiyim) translates literally as "breath of life," denoting the animating force that distinguished living creatures from the inert earth.

The thread — This phrase traces back to Genesis 2:7 where God breathes it into humanity, reappears in Genesis 6:17 as the criterion for the flood's destruction, and frames the immediate context in Genesis 7:21 and 7:23.

Why it lands — It demands recognition that life and death are defined solely by divine action, leaving no ambiguity about the totality of the judgment or the necessity of the ark for survival.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

כֹּ֡לkolall אֲשֶׁר֩'a.Sherthat נִשְׁמַת־nish.mat-[the] breath of ר֨וּחַRu.ach[the] breath of חַיִּ֜יםchai.Yimlife בְּאַפָּ֗יוbe./'a.Pa/v[was] in/ nostrils/ its מִכֹּ֛לmi./Kolfrom/ all אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherthat בֶּחָֽרָבָ֖הbe./cha.ra.Vah[was] on the/ dry ground מֵֽתוּ׃Me.tuthey died

King James Version

All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

Cross-references

Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 6:17 And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.