Genesis 6:11-22

 

6:9

“This is the account of Noah”

  • Noah’s “toledot”
  • The next chapters are probably Noah’s own written account (or, diary or log) with textual comments and editing done by Moses.

 

(“found favor” 6:8)

 

righteous” is  “saddiq” and is the first time it is used in scripture.  It refers to Noah meeting the right requirement of a code or law.  In this case it refers to Noah meeting God’s moral requirements.

 

blameless” is “tamim” and means “complete, sound”. It also describes an animal that is acceptable for sacrifice in the tabernacle because it was healthy and without physical blemish.  Noah was separate from the moral and physical corruption of his age.

 

walked with God

  • Notice Noah found favor with God and was walking with God before anything is mentioned about him obeying God by building the ark.
  • Noah’s obedience came after he found favor.

 

Ezekiel 14:14, 20 recognize Noah’s righteousness:

 

Even if these three men – Noah, Daniel and Job – were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.” (Ez.14:14)

 

“. . .they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.” (Ez. 14:20)

 

Hebrews 11:7 remember Noah’s godliness:

 

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.  By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”  (Heb. 11:7)

 

2 Peter 2:5 calls Noah a preacher of righteousness”

 

If he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others.” 
(2 Peter 2:5)

 

Noah faced this corrupt world with:

  1. Faith
  2. Righteousness
  3. Preaching

 

6:10

Shem, Ham, Japheth

 

 

6:11

earth corrupt

 

in God’s sight

 

full of violence

 

6:12

people had corrupted their ways.”

 

6:13

put an end to all people

 

earth is filled with violence because of them

 

I am going to destroy both them and the earth.”

  • “destroy” is a word play on “corrupt” (Hb. “shakhat”) because “destroy” literally says “cause corruption”.
  • The earth was corrupt, the people had corrupted their ways, so God was going to cause corruption on the people and the earth.

 

 

The map below shows the location of a few of the original flood legends that were native to the people from these areas. These flood accounts did not come from the Bible but were handed down through generations and probably date back to the actual event recorded accurately and in detail in the Bible.  

 

 

 6:14

ark of cypress wood

  • “ark” is “tebah” and it is only used here and in reference to the basket Moses was placed in (Ex. 2:3, 5)
  • There was no means of powering or moving the ark and no steering mechanism.  The ark was a barge and not a boat.
  • The ark of the covenant is the word “’aron”
  • The wood is some kind of resinous wood that would resist water and decay.

 

make rooms in it

  • “rooms” is Hebrew “qinnim” meaning “nests”.  Everywhere else in the OT it refers to birds’ nests.
  • This word may refer to “reeds” which is what Moses’ ark or basket was made of.
  • “rooms” or “compartments” is

 

coat it with pitch inside and out

 

 

6:15
450 feet long, 75 feet wide, 45 feet high (Hebrew: 300 cubits x 50 cubits x 30 cubits)

  • Volume size was 1.54 million cubic feet (43,500 cubic meters)
  • The ark would be equal to 522 railroad stock cars.
  • One railroad stock car holds 240 sheep; 522 stock cars can hold 125,280 sheep.
  • These dimensions are the dimensions of a ship.  (Gilgamesh Epic had a ship that was 120 cubits square which clearly would not have worked.)

 

 

6:16

make a roof for it

 

finish the ark to with in 18 inches of the top” (1 cubit)

 

put a door in the side

 

make lower, middle and upper decks

  • The animal cages could have been stacked but even if they were not there is plenty of floor space on the three levels for all the animals plus walking space for each of them.

 

 

6:17

I am going to bring flood waters on the earth

  • “flood waters” is “mabbul”

 

to destroy all life under the heavens

 

every creature that has the breath of life in it.”

 

everything on earth will perish

 

6:18

I will establish my covenant with you

  • “establish” is “qum” and refers in most cases to a covenant that has already been placed into operation.  This then refers to a covenant God had with Adam (mankind) or is looking ahead to the covenant that God was going to make with Noah when he left the ark.

 

you will enter the ark

 

you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives

 

6:19

bring into the ark two of all living creatures

 

to keep them alive with you.”

 

 

6:20

Two of every kind of bird

Example: A newt is a kind of salamander (family), and all salamanders are types of amphibians (class), which are types of vertebrates (phylum)

 

KPCOFGS – Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family Genus, Species

  1. Kingdomanimal -  feed on organic matter (not a plant which create energy)
  2. Phylum vertebrate – a back bone with nerve chord
  3. Classmammal – milk for offspring, body with hair
  4. Orderprimate – opposed thumb, binocular vision
  5. Family lemuridae – longer nose, smaller brain, long slender limbs, a tail.
  6. Genus lemur – body shape, vocalizations, scent marking
  7. Species ring-tailed lemur 

 

    • Noah did not have to take every “species” on the ark.
    • Noah could have taken the “genus” on the ark and still preserved the “species” capability.
    • Even in some cases a “family” representative could have preserved the “genus” and the “species”
    • There are 8,000 genera (plural of genus) including extinct genera.
    • That would require 16,000 individual animals on the ark.
    • Volume size was 1.54 million cubic feet (43,500 cubic meters)
    • The ark would be equal to 522 railroad stock cars.
    • One railroad stock car holds 240 sheep; 522 stock cars can hold 125,280 sheep.
    • The ark has room for 125,280 sheep, the average size of the animals.  This leaves room for 109,280 more average sized animals!!

 

Dinosaurs:

  • Some say they may not have existed at all.  God just built their bones into the earth to test man’s faith and give the earth an appearance of age.  This is wrong.
  • If there is time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 then the dinosaurs may have been alive during that time.
  • If the dinosaurs were in the Garden and thus on the ark we need to consider this:
    • There are 668 genera (probably this number is way too high) of dinosaurs
    • Only 106 genera (again, too high) weigh more than 10 tons when fully grown
    • The dinosaurs did not have to be fully grown t-rexes, they could have been much younger specimens.
    •  Research shows that the average size of all animals on the ark would be smaller than a cat but larger than a gerbil.
    • Only 11% of the animals on the ark would have been larger than a sheep

 

Insects:

  • 1,000,000 insect species would require 1,000 cubic meters or 12 train cars if they were each kept in 4 inch cages.
  • But, insects are not included in the meaning of “behemah” or “remes” of Gen. 6:19-20
  • Insects could have survived outside the ark floating on debris or in egg form.

 

 

of every kind of animal

 

of every kind of creature that moves along the ground

 

will come to you to be kept alive.”

 

6:21

take every kind of food

 

store it away as food for you and for them.”

 

 

Food:

  • Compressed and Dried food along with concentrated food.
  • 15% of the ark space was needed for food storage
  • 10% of ark volume was needed for drinking water, but it is probable that this water was collected and piped directly to the troughs while it rained.  There may have been very little storage of water on the ark for obvious reasons.

 

Animal Waste:

  • Sloped floors or slatted cages would allow manure to fall and be flushed.
  • Composting worms could be used and thus survive the flood in the composting pile.
  • Bedding which included absorbent material like sawdust, wood shavings would reduce the moisture and the odor.  This bedding if applied thick enough could last a year.

 

Hibernation:

  • All of the food, waste, exercise, etc. issues for the animals are possible in the ark
  • All of the above could greatly be reduced if the animals were in hibernation

 

 

Flood Legends   

Africa

Southwest Tanzania
Once upon a time the rivers began to flood. The god told two people to get into a ship. He told them to take lots of seed and to take lots of animals. The water of the flood eventually covered the mountains. Finally the flood stopped. Then one of the men, wanting to know if the water had dried up let a dove loose. The dove returned. Later he let loose a hawk which did not return. Then the men left the boat and took the animals and the seeds with them.

Asia

China
The Chinese classic called the Hihking tells about "the family of Fuhi," that was saved from a great flood. This ancient story tells that the entire land was flooded; the mountains and everything, however one family survived in a boat. The Chinese consider this man the father of their civilization. This record indicates that Fuhi, his wife, three sons, and three daughters were the only people that escaped the great flood. It is claimed, that he and his family were the only people alive on earth, and repopulated the world.

Babylon
Gilgamesh met an old man named Utnapishtim, who told him the following story. The gods came to Utnapishtim to warn him about a terrible flood that was coming. They instructed Utnapishtim to destroy his house and build a large ship. The ship was to be 10 dozen cubits high, wide and long. Utnapishtim was to cover the ship with pitch. He was supposed to take male and female animals of all kinds, his wife and family, provisions, etc. into the ship. Once ship was completed the rain began falling intensely. The rain fell for six days and nights. Finally things calmed and the ship settled on the top of Mount Nisir. After the ship had rested for seven days Utnapishtim let loose a dove. Since the land had not dried the dove returned. Next he sent a swallow which also returned. Later he let loose a raven which never returned since the ground had dried. Utnapishtim then left the ship.

Chaldean
There was a man by the name of Xisuthrus. The god Chronos warned Xisuthrus of a coming flood and told him to build a boat. The boat was to be 5 stadia by 2 stadia. In this boat Xisuthrus was to put his family, friends and two of each animal (male and female). The flood came. When the waters started to recede he let some birds loose. They came back and he noticed they had mud on their feet. He tried again with the same results. When he tried the third time the birds did not return. Assuming the water had dried up the people got out of the boat and offered sacrifices to the gods.

India
A long time ago lived a man named Manu. Manu, while washing himself, saved a small fish from the jaws of a large fish. The fish told Manu, "If you care for me until I am full grown I will save you from terrible things to come". Manu asked what kind of terrible things. The fish told Manu that a great flood would soon come and destroy everything on the earth. The fish told Manu to put him in a clay jar for protection. The fish grew and each time he outgrew the clay jar Manu gave him a larger one. Finally the fish became a ghasha, one of the largest fish in the world. The fish instructed Manu to build a large ship since the flood was going to happen very soon. As the rains started Manu tied a rope from the ship to the ghasha. The fish guided the ship as the waters rose. The whole earth was covered by water. When the waters began subsiding the ghasha led Manu's ship to a mountaintop.

Australia

There is a legend of a flood called the Dreamtime flood. Riding on this flood was the woramba, or the Ark Gumana. In this ark was Noah, Aborigines, and various animals. This ark eventually came to rest in the plain of Djilinbadu where it can still be found. They claim that the white mans story about the ark landing in the middle east is a lie that was started to keep the aborigines in subservience. This legend is undoubtedly the product of aboriginal legends merging with those of visiting missionaries, and there does not appear to be any native flood stories from Australia.

Europe

Greece
A long time ago, perhaps before the golden age was over, humans became proud. This bothered Zeus as they kept getting worse. Finally Zeus decided that he would destroy all humans. Before he did this Prometheus, the creator of humans, warned his human son Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha. Prometheus then placed this couple in a large wooden chest. The rains started and lasted nine days and nights until the whole world was flooded. The only thing that was not flooded was the peaks of Mount Parnassus and Mount Olympus. Mount Olympus is the home of the gods. The wooden chest came to rest on Mount Parnassus. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha got out and saw that everything was flooded. The lived on provisions from the chest until the waters subsided. At Zeus' instruction they re-populated the earth.

North America

Mexico
The Toltec natives have a legend telling that the original creation lasted for 1716 years, and was destroyed by a flood and only one family survived.

Aztec- A man named Tapi lived a long time ago. Tapi was a very pious man. The creator told Tapi to build a boat that he would live in. He was told that he should take his wife, a pair of every animal that was alive into this boat. Naturally everyone thought he was crazy. Then the rain started and the flood came. The men and animals tried to climb the mountains but the mountains became flooded as well. Finally the rain ended. Tapi decided that the water had dried up when he let a dove loose that did not return.

United States
The Ojibwe natives who have lived in Minnesota USA since approximately 1400AD also have a creation and flood story that closely paralleles the Biblical account. "There came a time when the harmonious way of life did not continue. Men and women disrespected each other, families quarreled and soon villages began arguing back and forth. This saddened Gitchie Manido [the Creator] greatly, but he waited. Finally, when it seemed there was no hope left, Creator decided to purify Mother Earth through the use of water. The water came, flooding the Earth, catching all of creation off guard. All but a few of each living thing survived." Then it tells how Waynaboozhoo survived by floating on a log in the water with various animals.
Ojibwe - Ancient native American creation story tells of world wide flood.

Delaware Indians - In the pristine age, the world lived at peace; but an evil spirit came and caused a great flood. The earth was submerged. A few persons had taken refuge on the back of a turtle, so old that his shell had collected moss. A loon flew over their heads and was entreated to dive beneath the water and bring up land. It found only a bottomless sea. Then the bird flew far away, came back with a small portion of earth in its bill, and guided the tortoise to a place where there was a spot of dry land.

South America

Inca
During the period of time called the Pachachama people became very evil. They got so busy coming up with and performing evil deeds they neglected the gods. Only those in the high Andes remained uncorrupted. Two brothers who lived in the highlands noticed their llamas acting strangely. They asked the llamas why and were told that the stars had told the llamas that a great flood was coming. This flood would destroy all the life on earth. The brothers took their families and flocks into a cave on the high mountains. It started to rain and continued for four months. As the water rose the mountain grew keeping its top above the water. Eventually the rain stopped and the waters receded. The mountain returned to its original height. The shepherds repopulated the earth. The llamas remembered the flood and that is why they prefer to live in the highland areas.

The Ancient Choctaw Legend

When the missionaries first came to the Choctaws in Mississippi in 1818, this tradition was told them about as follows: In ancient times after men had lived a long period upon the earth they became very corrupt and wicked, and deluged the earth with so much blood and carnage that the Great Spirit finally decided to utterly destroy them. He, therefore, sent a prophet among them, who went from tribe to tribe and from village to village proclaiming the fearful tidings that the race was soon to be destroyed. No one paid any attention to him, however, and people went on in their wickedness as carelessly as ever. But one year, with the coming of autumn, mists and clouds gathered over the earth, so that there was no sun shining by day nor did the moon and stars light up the gloom of night. The situation grew gradually worse until the earth became shrouded in total darkness. The air was chill and all animate nature became silent. People too became silent and perplexed, but yet they gave no evidence of repenting for their evil deeds. They were compelled to find their way from place to place by light of torches.

The food that they had stored away became mouldy and unfit to eat. Soon the silence of the skies was broken by muttering thunder. As time went on, the thunderings grew louder and spread to almost every quarter of the sky. The wild beasts, overcome with terror, lost their dread of man and crept up around the village fires that gave the only relief from the general darkness and cold. People grew despondent, and the death songs were chanted everywhere. The Medicine Men could offer no explanation and had no hope to offer the striken people. But yet there was no repentance, no turning of a sinful people back to the Great Spirit - only a sullen fatalism.

One day very suddenly there came a crash of thunder much louder than had ever been heard before. The whole earth seemed to shake and tremble with the reverberation. Then, as people looked towards the north, they seemed to see a light - the first they had seen for many a long dark day. But whatever hope may have been aroused in their breasts was dissipated. For what they saw was not the return of the long lost sun, but it was the gleam of a great mountain of water, advancing in great billows from the north, covering the entire earth and destroying everything in its path. With the cry, "Oka Falamah, Oka Falamah" (the returning waters, the returning waters) the doomed people turned away in one last vain effort to escape. But there was no escape. The whole earth was soon covered even to the tops of the mountains by the vast flood, and men and animals alike perished, leaving only a desolate wilderness of waters.

Of all mankind, only one remained, and that was the mysterious prophet who had so faithfully yet vainly proclaimed the warnings of the Great Spirit. This prophet had been directed by the Great Spirit to build a raft of sassafras logs, upon which he floated safely above the destroying flood, while he gazed sadly upon the dead bodies of men and beasts as they floated past him in the dark waters.

The prophet floated aimlessly about for many weeks, until at last one day he saw a large black bird circling over his raft. He cried to it for help, but the bird only uttered a few harsh croaks and flew away to be seen no more. Some days later the prophet saw a smaller bird, bluish in color, with red beak and eyes, hovering over the raft. Again he asked this bird if there was a spot of dry land to be found anywhere in the waste of waters. It hovered over him for a few moments as if trying in its soft mournful voice to give the desired information, and then flew off towards the west where the new sun was again setting in splendor. Almost at once a strong wind arose which carried the raft in the direction in which the bird had gone. All night, it floated on under the moon and stars which shone again with renewed brightness.

When the sun rose the next morning the prophet saw in the distance an island towards which his raft seemed to be drifting. Before the sun went down again, the raft had moved along until it touched the island, and the tired prophet landed, and glad to be on the earth once more, he lay down and slept until the sun rose the next day. Much refreshed, he then began to look about the island, where to his surprise, he found every variety of animal formerly found on the earth (except the mammoth), and all the birds and fowl also. Among the birds he noticed the great black bird that had visited and deserted him upon the waters. This bird he named "fulushto" - the raven - always thereafter regarded as a bird of ill omen by the Choctaws.

He was overjoyed also to find again the little bluish bird that had hovered over him and caused the breeze to blow that brought his raft safe to the pleasant island. Because of its beauty and of its kindly deed he named this bird "Puchi Yushuba" (Lost Pigeon).

The prophet lived on this island for many days, until finally the waters passed away, and the earth once more took its former appearance, with hills, valleys, and grassy prairies. Then the strangest of all things happened Puchi Yushuba was changed by the Great Spirit into a beautiful young woman, who soon became the wife of the prophet, and by their children the world was repeopled. But the Indian people never again became so rashly disobedient to the Great Spirit, and never forgot the lesson of Oka Falamah, the "Returning Waters."

 

Flood Evidence: