Recognizing the accommodations in Scripture, specifically anthropomorphisms and pathisms,
one could argue that the translations that God "repented," "regretted," or "changed His mind" are
legitimate. In those verses and contexts, one could hold, that is what God seemed to do, from the human
standpoint. Yet, at the very least, the translation that God "repented" must be understood in the sense of
the other renderings, namely, that God "had regret" or "a change of mind." God never does wrong; all His
thoughts and ways are thoroughly just, righteous, and holy; there is never any sin or error on the part of
God. Also, God's "being sorry," or "having regret" about something, or His "changing His mind," must
be understood within the framework of God's total knowledge, including His complete foreknowledge, and
the related truth of His immutability.
Nevertheless, the position of this paper is that other translations, based on the original language
and context, are to be preferred. They are preferable because they will not mislead, or confuse, the average
modern reader of Scripture. For when such a reader comes across the renderings that God "repented," or
"regretted," or "was sorry," or "changed His mind," he could arrive at wrong notions concerning the Deity,
as already discussed.
Two sample passages will be examined, which have been translated by some in just this manner,
and which have figured into studies of God's knowledge, as well as His immutability. Both passages are
from the Old Testament, and both involve the same Hebrew verb, used of God: nacham, in the niphal stem.
The first is Genesis 6:6 "Yahweh nachamed that/because He had made man on the earth and He was
pained to/in His heart." The second is Exodus 32:14, which occurs in the text after God threatened to
devour the Israelites because of the golden calf incident, and after Moses' subsequent intercession on
behalf of the Israelites. The verse reads, "And Yahweh nachamed concerning the harm/injury/disaster
which He threatened to do/spoke of doing to His people."
The verb nacham occurs 108 times in the Old Testament, 48 times in the niphal stem, 51 times in
the piel stem, twice in the pual stem, and 7 times in the hithpael stem.
14
It has a range of meanings,
especially in the niphal and hithpael. Heinz-Josef Simian-Yofre, in his article on the verb in Theological
Dictionary of the Old Testament, summarizes as follows:
14
Heinz-Josef Simian-Yofre, "nhm [nchm]," Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Volume IX
(trans. David Green; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), p. 342.