ChristianAnswers.Net WebBible Encyclopedia
The Deluge / Genesis Flood / Noah's Flood
the name given to the worldwide flood in the time of Noah, the history of which is recorded in Genesis 7 and 8
The cause of this judgment was the corruption and violence that filled the Earth in the 9th generation from Adam. God in righteous indignation determined to purge the Earth of the ungodly. Amid a world of crime and guilt, there was one household that continued faithful and true to God, the household of Noah. “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations.”
At the command of God, Noah made an ark 300 cubits long, 50 broad, and 30 high. He slowly proceeded with this work during a period of 120 years (Genesis 6:3). At length, the purpose of God began to be carried into effect. Here is a list of the order of events as they occurred.
In the 600th year of his life Noah is commanded by God to enter the ark, taking with him his wife, and his three sons with their wives (Genesis 7:1-10).
The rain begins on the 17th day of the 2nd month (Genesis 7:11-17).
The rain ceases, the waters prevail, 15 cubits upward (Genesis 7:18-24).
The ark grounds on one of the mountains of Ararat on the 17th day of the 7th month, or 150 days after the Deluge began (Genesis 8:1-4).
Tops of the mountains visible on the first day of the 10th month (Genesis 8:5).
Raven and dove sent out 40 days after this (Genesis 8:6-9).
Dove again sent out 7 days afterwards; and in the evening she returns with an olive leaf in her mouth (Genesis 8:10,11).
Dove sent out the 3rd time after an interval of other 7 days, and returns no more (Genesis 8:12).
The ground becomes dry on the 1st day of the 1st month of the new year (Genesis 8:13).
Noah leaves the ark on the 27th day of the 2nd month (Genesis 8:14-19).
The historical truth of the narrative of the Flood is established by the references made to it by our Lord ( Matt. 24:37; compare Luke 17:26). Peter speaks of it also (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5). In Isa. 54:9 the Flood is referred to as “the waters of Noah.” It swept away all men living except Noah and his family, who were preserved in the ark; and that the present human race is descended from those who were thus preserved.
Traditions of the Deluge are found among all the great divisions of the human family; and these traditions, taken as a whole, wonderfully agree with the Biblical narrative, and agree with it in such a way as to lead to the conclusion that the Biblical is the authentic narrative, of which all these traditions are corrupted versions. The most remarkable of these traditions is that recorded on tablets prepared by order of Assur-bani-pal, the king of Assyria. These were, however, copies of older records which belonged to somewhere about B.C. 2000, and which formed part of the priestly library at Erech (q.v.), “the ineradicable remembrance of a real and terrible event.”
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
- Where did the Flood water come from? Answer
- Where did the Flood water go afterwards? Answer
- Does the Bible claim that the Flood of Noah covered the entire Earth? Answer
- Could Noah's Ark really hold all the animals preserved in the flood? Answer
- How did various animals get from the Ark to isolated places, such as Australia? Answer
- How did FISH survive the Flood? Answer
- How did LAND PLANTS survive the Flood? Answer
- Was there a thick water vapor canopy in the pre-Flood world? Answer
- Did Noah need oxygen above the mountains? Answer
- Is the Black Sea flood the flood of Genesis? Answer
- What is “Gopher Wood?” Answer
- Genesis and ancient Near Eastern stories of Creation and the Flood: an introduction. Answer
- What does the fossil record teach us about evolution? Answer
- Where are all the human fossils? Answer
- How could all the human races come from Noah, his three sons and their wives? Answer
- Has the Garden of Eden ever been found? Answer