Genesis 7 and 8 - The Flood

Based on Chapter 7 and 8 of Genesis, I have summarised the timeline and the critical activities in the following chart (adapted from Matthew Kneisler at www.arksearch.com):

In total, Noah, his family and the animals spent a total of 378 days in the ark.

The Flood: Universal or Local? 

There are protracted debates over the question whether the flood that occurred during Noah's time was local or universal.  Unlike the identity of the Sons of God in Chapter 6 where it is not critical on the view one holds, the Bible here clearly, in my view, showed that the flood was universal.  There are many reasons for holding this view.

If the flood was local, there will be no need for God to gather all the animals to the ark nor for Noah to build the ark in the first place.  He could have moved Noah, his family and the animals to another place where the flood did not impact.  Afterall, they had 120 years to do just that.  

If the flood was local, in the same vein, the rest of the people could have moved further away from the local flood area by foot or by some form of flotation devices.  Surely, some could have survived the flood if it was local.

The language in chapter 7 and 8 also make a local flood a little hard to grapple with.  The Bible mentioned the following:

The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. [Gen 7:19]

The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. [Gen 7:20]

The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days. [Gen 7:24]

and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased. [Gen 8:3]

The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible. [Gen 8:5]

People who argue against a universal flood do so for "scientific" reasons (you can see Hugh Ross' arguments here).  It's interesting that some of them defer to the scientific "evidences" against a local flood and yet in the same breath, reject the scientific "evidences" for evolution.

To me, the strongest evidence for a universal flood is the promise made to Noah by God at the end of the flood in Gen 8:21-22

and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.  While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."      

If it was a local flood, then God has not kept His promise as there were records of deadly local floods since then.  Some try to circumvent this by saying that unlike the Noah's flood which destroyed every living thing, the subsequent local floods did not.  My rebuttal is that why do these people insist on reading the term "every living thing" in Gen 8:22 literally but not the "all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered" statement in Gen 7:19.  You can't have it both ways in a single narrative. 

Here are other interesting points from Chapter 7 and 8:

(1) In Genesis 7:2-3, an elaboration of the gathering of the animals was revealed.  Besides the gathering of one pair (male and female) of the animals, God instructed Noah to further gathering 7 pairs of clean animals.  The Bible did not explain the purpose but we do know that one pair of each of the clean animals were offered as burnt offering to God after the flood (Genesis 8:20).  The interesting thing to note here is that before the Mosaic Law, it was apparent that people during Noah's time did know the categorisation of clean and unclean animals.  This bolster the view that Cain and Abel did know what was expected of them in terms of the sacrifices that was demanded by God.

(2) The flood was caused from 2 sources: (a) all the fountains of the great deep burst open and (b) the floodgates of the sky were opened, both on the same day.  The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights and while it is not mentioned in the Bible, it is most probable that the fountains of the great deep also continued to pour forth water for the same duration as the Bible mentioned in Gen 8:2 that the same fountains of the deep were closed only at the end of the flood. 

(3) Recall a previous post discussing the role Methuselah, Noah's grandfather, played in the timeline of the flood.  Based on the genealogy in Genesis 5, Methuselah died in the year the flood came upon the earth.  His name ([his] death, shall bring) was actually a prophetic message and some have speculated that his death actually triggered the rain (Gen 7:6) and Noah was graciously given an additional 7 days (Gen 7:10) to mourn the death of Methuselah.  Just an interesting bit for you to chew on...

(4) Given such a catacylsmic event, it would be seared in the memories of the Noah and his family, and that this event would have been passed down to the subsequent generations.  And indeed they were.  However, people assumed that later accounts copied from the earlier accounts, that the Genesis account of the flood was copied from the earlier Babylonian myth in the Epic of Gilgamesh.  It is interesting that even in wikipedia, the contributors chose to record this one act of "plagarism" to only the Genesis account and not the more than 20 flood accounts there.

(5) If we assume that accounts get more embellished the later they are recorded, then the Genesis account would get the right to be the oldest account.  There was no embellishment in the Genesis account, the detailed dimensions of the ark was recorded and shown to make sense from the stability point of view, and the time intervals between each significant flood event were also "painstakingly" recorded.  This is in stark contrast to others as you can read from the wikipedia reference.

(6) Genesis 8:1 records yet another expression of anthropomorphism where the Bible seems to hint that God has forgotten about Noah.  It is interesting to note that this particular verse seldom gets pick on.

(7) The receding of the flood waters seem to have occurred naturally.  The water also apparently did not "return" to the fountains of the deep since the Bible only recorded that God closed them (Gen 8:2).  So where did all the water went?  Based on the timeline above, the waters would have had 331 days to evaporate and at the same time, the weight of all these waters would have drastically change the topology of the earth somewhat, with new valleys and mountains being created by the force of the waters.  This 331 days would seem to be unnecessary if it was only a local flood.

(8) Noah's method of checking whether the water has receded and the choice of birds used are intriguing.  It also help draw out the important lesson that humans need to play their part in the overall plan of God.  Noah obviously did not sit in the ark waiting for God to tell him that the water had receded.  He took the responsibility and the active role to find that out for himself.  Once Noah had done his part, God stepped in immediately to instruct him what needed to be done.

I will talk about Genesis 8:15-22 together with the next chapter to explain the 2nd covenant found in the Bible - The Noahic Covenant. 

Genesis 6 (Part Two) - The State of Noah and God's "Regret"

The Two Different States of Noah

This post today will attempt to clear a common misconception about one of the most familiar character of Sunday School - Noah.  This common misconception stems from the way the chapter divisions have been implemented in Genesis.  As I have mentioned in a previous post, Moses compiled Genesis from 11 books of records.  There is a break between verse 8 and 9 of Chapter 6.  To recap, Genesis 5:1 to 6:8 is the Records of the Generations of Adam with Genesis 6:9 to 9:29 as the Records of the Generations of Noah.

My contention is that the state of Noah at the end of Genesis 6:8 is very different from the one at the beginning of Genesis 6:9 because of the 2 different Records. 

In the Records of the Generations of Adam, it records that "the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (verse 5).  A plain reading of the text suggests that Noah was amongst those men described in this verse.  We can confirm this hypothesis in verse 8 when the Bible said that "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD".  The word חן (hen - gutteral h) can be translated as favour, grace or charm depending on the context.  In the 64 instances in the Old Testament that it has been translated as favour or grace, the context suggests that it was unmerited.  This gives us an indication that through God's sovereign will, He elected to show grace to Noah and led him to repent of his wickedness that was pervasive on the earth during that time.  The purpose?  To ensure that God's plan of redemption announced in Genesis Chapter 3 remains intact.  The liberals will protest God's "unfairness" in this arbitrary choice but the alternate view should be that God's demand for justice meant that none on earth at that time had any excuse not to merit God's wrath due to their wickedness.  Remember that Adam who had personally commune with God was alive on the earth as God's witness all the way to the ninth generation of Lamech, Noah's father, till he was 56 years-old.  Anyway, in all likelihood, it's not just Noah that was saved since God would have to extend His unmerited grace to 4 women, the wives of Noah and his 3 sons.

The Records of the Generation of Noah opens the account of Noah describing the state after he was redeemed by God.  Hence, the Bible starts this new narrative declaring that "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God".  This does not mean that Noah was perfect (as translated by KJV) but that he fared better than the rest of humankind.  How do we know?  Right after the Flood, Noah was recorded to have been drunk with wine made from the vine that he himself has planted.  Besides the obvious break in the narrative as recorded by the term "These are the records of the generations of Noah", the other tell-tale sign is the term used describing God.  In verses 3-8, the personal name of God, Yahweh, was used.  From verses 9 to the end of Chapter 6, the common term for God, El, was used. (Those observant readers will pick up that the personal name of God was used in Chapter 7 but we will leave that to the next post.)

The Bible also records that Noah had 3 sons: Shem ("name"), Ham ("hot" or "warm") and Japheth ("opened" / "enlarged" or "fair" / "beautiful").  From Genesis 9:22-24 and 10:21, we can determine that Shem was the first born followed by Japheth, with Ham as the youngest son.  However, the hebrew in Genesis 10:21 apparently allows for the interpretation that Japheth could be the first born instead (case of reading that Shem was "the older brother of Japheth" or that Shem was "the brother of Japheth, the elder").  That Shem is mentioned first in most passages is an indication that the promised seed will come through the line of Shem and, if Japheth was the first born, followed the oft-repeated theme in the Bible that the first borns usually did not gain prominence in the Bible.  That Ham is usually mentioned next even though he was the youngest is an indication of his notoriety which we will encounter later. 

God's Regret  

The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  The LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." (verses 6-7) 

The word נחם (nacham) can be translated as to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted.  It is the same word used for the proper name of Noah.

Many critics have taken this passage to imply that God regretted His decision to create Adam and Eve.  They questioned God's immutability, that He does not change.  I think this is unnecessary.  Perhaps the best internal evidence is found in 1 Samuel Chapter 15 in verses 10-11, 28-29 and 35.

Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands."

So Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.  Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind."

Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel. 

It would seem that there is a contradiction here with regards to whether God changes His mind or not.  As I have mentioned before, this is anthropomorphism - the attribution of human characteristics to a non-human entity, in this case of God.  In the case of Genesis 6:6-7, it is a way of expressing, albeit inadequately, that God can respond in a particular manner to change in behaviour made by His creation.  It is inadequate in the sense the God transcends the time domain.  This is explained in Revelation 1:8

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." 
 
This means that God already knew that humankind would end up in the sorry state during Noah's time, in the same way that He knew that Adam and Eve would fall.  The comforting thing to me is that since God already knew that the people during Noah's time would not repent, He nevertheless sovereignly decided that humankind would be given another 120 years to turn back.  This demonstrated God's long-suffering loving kindness and to tell humankind that they were without excuse.  This was the same approach that God took with Adam and Eve in their fall from grace and Cain in murdering Abel.

The State of the World During Noah's Time

The state of the world during Noah's time was mentioned twice in Chapter 6 - once in the Records of the Generations of Adam (verse 5) and once in the Records of the Generations of Noah (verses 11-12)  

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [Verse 5]  

Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.  God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. [Verses 11-12]  

While it seems like a repetition in the context of Chapter 6, this is not the case if we look at this from the context of these 2 different Records of Generations.  The emphasis in both descriptions is the pervasiveness of evil on the earth in the language (every intent, only evil continually, all flesh).  

This was the basis of God's judgment upon the earth and the whole humankind.  The judgment will come in the form of a universal flood as spelt out in verse 17 when God said:  

Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.

I will mention more about the universality of the flood in the next chapter.  However, the certainty of God's judgment can be seen from the repetition of God's pronouncement in this verse.   

The Construction of the Ark

The key features of the Ark are as follows: 

a. It was made of gopher-wood.   The word "gopher" is transliterated from Hebrew as the actual meaning is uncertain.  The Septuagint translated this as "square timber".  Other modern versions like NIV, NRSV and NET translated this as cypress wood. 

b. The dimensions was approximately 140m (length), 23m (breadth) and 14m (height).  This is based on the most conservative estimate that 1 cubit = 18 inches. 

c. It has 3 decks, with a window at the top possibly for air circulation and the door at the side. 

d.  The ark is not a ship and it was not meant to function as one.  The Hebrew word for ark "tebah" can also mean "box".  Outside of the Flood, the only other time this term is used is the wicker basket used to hold baby Moses.  Interestingly, this basket was also covered over with pitch (and tar).  

God's Instructions Regarding the Ark  

Besides Noah, his 3 sons and their wives, God instructed Noah to bring in 2 of every kind of living things of all flesh (birds, animals, creeping things) into the ark, one male and one female.  Noah did not have to go out to gather all of them.  Verse 20 stated that the animals "will come to you to keep them alive".

Noah was also told to bring some of all food, both for the human beings and the animals since both were vegetarians/herbivorous before the Flood.

God's Covenant with Noah and His Response

In verse 18, the first mention of the word "covenant" (beriyth) is made here in the Bible with Noah as the key beneficiary.  Noah's response to God is worth noting.  

Remember in Genesis 2:6 where it is hinted that there was then no rain during the pre-Flood era: 

But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.  

Hence, could you imagine the extreme ridicule that Noah would have had to endure from the people then for building an ark for a larger part of the 120 years that God gave humankind at that point of time to repent?  We know from 2 Peter 2:5 that Noah not only built the ark but was also preaching to the people, probably to join him in the ark.  The Bible can something be a matter-of-fact to a fault but we should be sensitive to the fact that Noah did not waver a bit during this 120 years.  I think Hebrews says it best in Chapter 11 verse 7:  

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

And thus Genesis Chapter 6 also ended "matter-of-factly" with verse 22:

Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.