The story of the receding floodwaters in Genesis 8 hangs its suspense on the question of when the dry land becomes dry enough. As Noah sends a raven and a dove, the tension heightens and the reader with fresh eyes wonders, “Will the ground ever be dry enough to live on?” In the NET Bible, the climax is written this way: “He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there was a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak!” (Gen. 8.10-11). The sentence ends in a way that is (unfortunately) uncommon in English Bibles: with an exclamation point!
Hebrew and Greek don’t have exclamation points. Maybe that’s why “literal” English translations don’t either (with rare exceptions like Rom. 6.2 and I Sam. 10.24). I think that’s a shame.
We lament the fact that we find it difficult to read our Bibles on a regular basis – especially with an engaged mind and delighted heart! We yearn for freshness, joy and excitement as we turn the pages of God’s Word. Why, then, do our translations neglect one of the most exciting punctuation marks available?
It’s not that the Bible is a dull book of lifeless stories about ancient dead people. Hardly! It is full of stories that are suspenseful, characters that are real and messages that are life-changing. I think that using a bit of exciting punctuation once in a while would help us see the surprise and joy and power of the Bible’s truths!
I’ve read about Noah’s ark dozens of times. But last night, when my eyes ran across that unexpected exclamation point, the story arrested me and I shared the surprise and joy that Noah felt when he saw that olive branch in the dove’s beak – when God protects his people and meets their needs, that’s something worth an exclamation!
For some other articles about punctuation in Bible translation, see Bill Mounce’s helpful posts at Zondervan: