And every living substance was destroyed—literally, wiped out (cf. Genesis 6:7; Genesis 7:4)—which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and—literally, from, man urge—cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the hearten; and they were destroyed—wiped, out by washing (cf.
Genesis 6:7)—from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. The straits to which the advocates of the documentary hypothesis are sometimes reduced are remarkably exemplified by the fortunes of these verses (21-23) in the attempt to assign them to their respective authors.
Astruc conjectures that Genesis 7:21 was taken from what he calls monumentum B, Genesis 7:22 from "monument" A, and Genesis 7:23 from monument C. Eichhorn ascribes Genesis 7:21, Genesis 7:22 to an Elohistic author, and Genesis 7:23 to a Jehovistic.
Ilgen assigns Genesis 7:21, Genesis 7:22 to the first, and Genesis 7:23 to the second Elohist. Bleek, all three to the Elohist; and Davidson Genesis 7:21 to the Elohist, Genesis 7:22, Genesis 7:23 to the Jehovist.
Amid such uncertainty it will be reasonable to cling to the belief that Moses wrote all the three verses, at least till the higher criticism knows its own mind.