Gen 6:1 | NETfull | STEP | When humankind began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,

Genesis 6:1

1 When humankind ^{▼▼ The Hebrew text has the article prefixed to the noun. Here the article indicates the generic use of the word אָדָם (’adam): “humankind.”} began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born ^{▼▼ This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial to the initial temporal clause. It could be rendered, “with daughters being born to them.” For another example of such a disjunctive clause following the construction וַיְהִיכִּי (vay^ehiki, “and it came to pass when”), see 2 Sam 7:1.} to them, ^{▼▼ The pronominal suffix is third masculine plural, indicating that the antecedent “humankind” is collective.}