Bible Study Genesis Verse By Verse

[Beetow]

.
● Gen 6:16a . . Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and terminate it within a
cubit of the top.

The ark was probably capped with a steeply sloped roof so the immense volumes of
water falling from the sky during the rain stage of the Flood wouldn't impinge it
perpendicularly; but rather strike a glancing blow; and the eves were likely quite
considerable so water running off the roof wouldn't find its way to the window. The
window was shuttered (Gen 8:6) which was a practical consideration. The first forty
days of the Flood were extremely inclement; and later on down at the end of the
voyage there was a howling wind to reckon with.

The dimensions of the window aren't stated, and it's design is a bit of a mystery
because later we'll see that Noah was apparently unable to look out and see for
himself whether the ground was dry. It could have been as wide as six feet and
extended the full length and width of the ark-- all the way around it; who really
knows. The only requirement was that it be adequate for light; but undoubtedly
served for ventilation too. With all that respiration going on in there, Noah's air
supply would become foul in very short order.

● Gen 6:16b . . Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with bottom, second,
and third decks.

A hatch in the hull was practical. Its cover could be let down as a boarding ramp.

The lowest deck is usually somewhat above the bottom and separated from it by a
void called the double bottom. That way if the actual bottom is pierced, the ship
won't sink while the void is sealed.

Whether or not Noah's craft had a double bottom is unknown; but likely it had at
least a bilge because the lowest deck needs to be above the bottom a bit so the
passengers and crew don't have to slosh around down there in the lower parts of
the ship where fetid water and other unsavory liquids typically collect.

The spaces between the ark's decks were fairly tall. If we divide 45 by 3 we get
roughly 15 feet apiece not counting a bilge, nor the thickness of the deck planks
and their beams. Fifteen feet can accommodate pretty tall animals; and provide
enough room for the birds to exercise now and then too.

An ark 450 feet by 75 feet, with three decks would have provided +/- 100,000
square feet of living space. If Noah were resourceful, he might have installed
shelves and cabinets on the hull and the bulkheads, plus more on the overheads,
and the underside of the ark's roof for even more storage/living space. thus he
would have taken advantage of not just the ark's square feet; but also its cubic
feet.

Critics insist there wasn't enough space aboard for all the various creatures in
Noah's day, but they fail to take into account a few facts. For one, nobody really
knows how long the cubit of Noah's day was and, most importantly, nobody really
knows how many species of life existed back then.

By the time h.sapiens appeared on this old earth of ours, some colossal mass
extinction events had already taken place; and on top of that, the species that exist
on earth in our day, may not have existed in Noah's day, but instead what we are
seeing in our day is the result of millennia of somatic mutations and adaptations.
And also Gen 6:19-20 & Gen 7:7-9 say that the animals selected for the ark "came"
to Noah so I think we have to assume that the animals who didn't come were left
behind.

Larger creatures could have shared their spaces with smaller creatures, even
permitting the ones smaller than themselves to climb up and rest on their backs.
Life finds a way.

They say there are seven wonders of the ancient world, but that is not quite
accurate. There's actually eight if we include Noah's ark. Sure, building a giant
floating barn like Noah's would be child's play for a modern shipyard like Northrop
Grumman Newport News; but back in that day, it was quite a feat.
_

 

[hawkman]

For example, nobody yet has really figured out how the Egyptians built the
pyramids nor how the people of Easter Island cut, carved, and moved all those big
stone heads around.

About Easter Island , there have been some discoveries .

The Famous Easter Island Heads Have Hidden Bodies

Practically everyone has seen the iconic images of the Easter Island heads. What you may not have known is that those Easter Island heads actually have hidden buried bodies.

www.forbes.com

 

[Beetow]

.
● Gen 6:17a . . For My part, I am about to bring the Flood-- waters upon the earth

(This event almost sounds like a potluck, to wit: Noah brought the boat, and God
brought the water.)

● Gen 6:17b . . to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is breath of life;
everything on earth shall perish.

Some think the Flood was merely a local event rather than a global deluge. But that
is not the way Genesis describes it. The author quotes God saying; to destroy "all
flesh under the sky" and: "everything on earth" shall perish.

If the Flood were to be local, then it would only be necessary for Noah and his
family and the animals to simply migrate to a different region rather than go to all
the trouble of building an immense water craft. No. The idea of localized flooding is
totally unacceptable because "the sky" is everywhere.

The Hebrew word translated "waters" is a plural noun that can be used either in a
plural sense as here in Gen 6:17, or in a singular sense as in Gen 21:14.

● Gen 6:18 . . But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter the
ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives.

Biblical covenants are legally-binding contracts; and may include stipulations for all
parties involved; and then again may stipulate responsibilities for only one of them
with the other simply being along for the benefit; sort of like an irrevocable trust.
Covenants may, or may not, include penalties for breach of contract; and
sometimes those penalties are very severe; e.g. Lev 26:3-38, Deut 27:15-26, and
Deut 28:1-69.

● Gen 6:19-20 . . And of all that lives, of all flesh, you shall take two of each into
the ark to keep alive with you; they shall be male and female. From birds of every
kind, cattle of every kind, every kind of creeping thing on earth, two of each shall
come to you to stay alive.

Apparently one pair of each kind was a minimum; I mean; Noah took four pairs of
humans aboard; and he was later given updated instructions to take seven pairs of
some species.

Fortunately Noah didn't have to go on safari to round up his passengers. The Bible
says two of each "shall come to you." which implies of course that species who
failed to come got left behind and went extinct in the Flood.

There was plenty of time for them to make it because Noah was 120 years building
the ark and getting it ready. Since the animals selected were cooperative and
docile, then the smaller beasties could hitch rides on the larger ones and thus save
themselves some steps.

If the ark were to launch in 2025, critters would have been on the move towards it
since 1905-- just two years after the Wright Brothers historical flight, and seven
years before the Titanic foundered --and probably reproduced many times along
the way since there are not all that many species that live to see 120 years of age.

But how did they cross oceans? In the past that was doubtless a thorny theological
problem. But with today's knowledge of the geological science of plate tectonics,
the answer is as simple as two plus two. Scientists have discovered that continental
land masses can be shifted, and in point of fact the dry parts brought so close
together as to form one single super continent.

Plus magma hot spots and pressure points serve to raise and lower the earth's
crust like a service elevator along with subduction which plays a role by pushing the
ocean's floor up above sea level and made to form land bridges; thus expediting
migration.

Normal geological processes take thousands of years to accomplish, but when you
factor in the creator's participation in the Flood event, it's no problem at all because
the supreme being has absolute power over not just the earth's geological
processes; but all the rest of nature's processes too.

What about dinosaurs? Did they go aboard with Noah too? No; too late.
Paleontologists are pretty sure the Jurassic era was over and gone by means of a
mysterious mass extinction event several millennia before the entrance of human
life on the earth; which, in my layman's opinion, is pretty good proof that the six
"days" of creation were quite a bit greater in length than 24 hours apiece.
_

 

[Beetow]

.
● Gen 6:21-22 . . For your part, take of everything that is eaten and store it away,
to serve as food for you and for them. Noah did so; just as God commanded him,
so he did.

God didn't specify precisely how much food to load aboard. He only instructed Noah
to store things that are edible; but not their quantity. Nobody can be sure whether
or not Noah knew just how long the Flood was going to last. If he didn't, then of
course he would have no idea how much food he needed to bring along.

So what about the carnivorous animals that came aboard with Noah-- the lions and
tigers and hawks and eagles and meerkats and alligators and crocodiles? Well;
those kinds of animals can live on vegetation when they have to. According to Isa
11:6-9 and Isa 65:25, there's a day coming when the diet of carnivores will be
changed to that of herbivores; which was actually their diet in the first place. (Gen
1:30)

Some have proposed that the animals hibernated so they wouldn't have to be fed
very often nor require much room for exercise nor would they generate much
manure to clean up. That's actually a very plausible explanation; but then so is
torpor, which is a modified version of hibernation whereby critters alternate periods
of unconsciousness with periods of activity.

Others have proposed that Noah loaded a minimal amount that God then
miraculously sustained. That too is a very plausible explanation. For example: 1Kgs
17:8-16 & 2Kgs 4:1-7

Also, according to 1Kgs 19:5-9, God is capable of strengthening the nourishment of
common food so that those who eat it can get by on less than usual amounts.

Another logistics problem was feeding everybody when the Flood was over. What
would they eat then?

The Flood left some species of vegetation intact. For example Gen 8:10-11 tells of
an olive leaf which-- according to the Hebrew word --was freshly plucked off the
tree rather than found lying around dead on the ground.

Also, a number of plants produce underground, e.g. carrots, turnips, radishes,
yams, beets, peanuts, parsnips, rutabagas, onions, Jerusalem artichokes, and
radishes. If Noah was directed where to look, he and his family could dig those up.

Plus, Noah was ordered to take aboard common foot stuffs for himself and for the
menagerie. I've a hunch that some of that was left over; maybe even quite a bit.

It's not unreasonable to believe vegetation survived the Flood. (It lasted
scarcely one year) The prairie grass that once flourished in America's corn belt was
some really hardy stuff. Prior to the White Man, prairie grass roots grew as deep as
four feet, and sometimes eleven, so that no matter how much or how often the
grass was burned off or withered by drought, it bounced right back.

● Gen 7:1 . .The Lord then said to Noah: Go into the ark, you and your whole
family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

The antediluvian folks weren't left on their own to figure out what's righteous and
what's not. According to 2Pet 2:5, Noah was a preacher; and he wasn't the only
one at it. Prior to him, Enoch pounded a pulpit. (Jude 1:1)

So then, the people who died in the Flood had no one to blame for missing the boat
but themselves. Had they listened to the available preaching and changed their
ways; the Flood wouldn't have been necessary to begin with.

NOTE: Noah is sometimes criticized for not utilizing more of the ark's cargo space
to take human life aboard instead of animals. But it wasn't for Noah to say. Passage
aboard the ark was by invitation only; and to qualify for an invitation, the
passengers had to be righteous. Well; only Noah was righteous, so he alone was
invited to go aboard with his family.
_

 

[Beetow]

.
● Gen 7:2-3 . . Of every clean animal you shall take seven pairs, males and their
mates, and of every animal that is not clean, two, a male and its mate; of the birds
of the sky also, seven pairs, male and female, to keep seed alive upon all the earth.

Official specifications for identifying clean, and unclean animals, are located at Lev
11:1-46, and Deut 14:3-20. Those specs were written many, many centuries after
Noah; so precisely which animals he regarded as clean in his day, and which not
clean is impossible to tell. But I think we can safely assume that "clean" animals
were those suitable for liturgical ceremonies and/or human consumption,
because up ahead Noah will be given the green light to begin eating meat.

The specific species that Noah took aboard were limited to the ones that God said in
6:20 "shall come to you". Any, and all, species that failed to come to Noah were
destroyed by the Flood. He didn't go out and hunt them down, nor take them by
force against their will. No; they had to show up on their own, or be left behind;
and I have a sneaking suspicion that many were.

● Gen 7:4 . . For in seven days' time I will make it rain upon the earth, forty days
and forty nights, and I will blot out from the earth all existence that I created.

God's prediction didn't include vegetation; because when the Flood ended, at least
one olive tree was still standing. So "all existence" only meant creatures; in
particular those that live on land and need air to survive; like birds, bugs, and
beasts; whether subterranean or on the surface. (Gen 7:21-23)

The seven-day deadline hung over the world's head like a sword of Damocles; and
the Flood was now imminent. But a final warning was issued probably just in case
somebody might change their mind about going along with Noah. Compare this
moment of silence to the one at Rev 8:1 just prior to sounding the seven trumpets.

● Gen 7:5 . . And Noah did just as the Lord commanded him.

Not many people can say, with all honesty and a good conscience, that they do
"just as" the Lord commands. It is a very unusual person who is careful to comply
with God's will to the letter.

● Gen 7:6a . . Noah was six hundred years old

Noah's age is expressed in what's known as prophetic years; which consist of
twelve equal months of thirty days each; adding up to 360 days; which is roughly
+/- 4¼ days short of a normal year. So his 600 was roughly 593 by our years.

Noah died at 950. According to the US Department of Health, the average USA life
expectancy is currently around 79. Using that as a point of reference: one year of
America's average age is equivalent to 11.88 years of Noah's age. So in
comparison; Noah would have been roughly 50 when the Flood began.

● Gen 7:6b . . when the Flood came, waters upon the earth.

The Hebrew word translated Flood basically means a deluge. There's another word
for "flood" in the Old Testament, but the Hebrew is different. Mabbuwl appears
twelve times in Genesis regarding Noah's worldwide cataclysm. The only other
place in the entire Old Testament where that word shows up again is Ps 29:10; and
even there it relates to Noah.

● Gen 7:7-9 . . Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark
because of the waters of the Flood. Of the clean animals, of the animals that are
not clean, of the birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two of each,
male and female, came to Noah into the ark, as God had commanded Noah.

Here again it's mentioned that the animals came to Noah rather than he and his
sons going on safari to round them up.

It was right about there that I would have become very nervous had I lived next
door to the Noahs. Up till then, he probably seemed like an ordinary crack pot-- a
nice enough guy, but kind of kooky. I mean: who builds a great big barge on dry
land? But when all those birds and animals showed up out at his place, and started
boarding Noah's Folly all by themselves, in neither chaos nor confusion, and without
Noah and his boys having to herd them in-- that was definitely cause for alarm.

It's true that wildlife at that time was not yet afraid of humans; and it was probably
a very common sight to see them mingling with people all over the place-- maybe
even assisting Noah to construct the ark --but not on such a scale as this. People
had to wonder why all those bugs, and beasties, and birdies were migrating out
there to Noah's spread. What's that all about? Did they maybe think to themselves
that old fool might know something after all?

Well; maybe they did; but according to Matt 24:38-39 they didn't take Noah
seriously enough but instead went about their daily lives as usual.
_

 

[Beetow]

.
● Gen 7:10 . . And on the seventh day the waters of the Flood came upon the
earth.

Thus far Genesis has defined days on Earth as periods of time when the Sun is up
rather than down, so we may safely assume the rain began in daylight rather than
when it was dark outside.

The water came right on time, just exactly when God said it would back in verse 4.
God's word carries different force in different circumstances. Sometimes He makes
predictions, sometimes He makes promises, and sometimes He even makes
threats.

Threats are often negotiable; sort of like an "or else". Like when Jonah went to
Ninevah around town heralding that within forty days they would be overthrown.
When the people changed their ways, God backed off.

But a prediction isn't negotiable; nor is it open to discussion. When God makes a
prediction, you can make bank on it because He's seen the future. The Flood was
predicted. He said it was coming in seven days; and sure enough it showed up.

NOTE: The apostle John saw the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:10
15. That event is now inevitable because John's vision is a revelation; viz: a
glimpse into not just one possible future, rather, it is what it is, i.e. it is the future.

● Gen 7:11a . . In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on
the seventeenth day of the month,

The Flood isn't dated according to a calendar; but rather, relative to Noah's life. In
other words: let's say that Noah was born in the month of July. Had that been the
case; then the second month of his life would have been August. More about this
later.

● Gen 7:11b . . the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up,
and the windows of heaven were opened.

The Hebrew word for "great" means abundant (in quantity, size, age, number,
rank, quality), so that this particular deep could be thought of as bottomless; viz:
an abysmal source of water beyond imagination. The precise location of the great
deep is currently unknown.

The "windows" of heaven are translated from a Hebrew word that means a sluice;
viz: a trough and/or an aqueduct for moving water from one place to another; in
this case for transferring water from the great deep to the Earth.

Seeing as how Gen 7:11 speaks of heaven and sluices, then I think it's safe to
assume that the water used to flood the Earth came from somewhere out in the
cosmos; which is actually a reasonable assumption.

In an article I found on the internet dated July 22, 2011; astronomers have
discovered the largest and oldest mass of water ever detected in the universe-- a
gigantic cloud harboring 140 trillion times more water than all of Earth's oceans
combined. Well; I'm pretty sure that's a sufficient quantity to inundate the Earth to
a depth required for the Flood.

● Gen 7:12 . . (The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.)

● Gen 7:13-16a . .That same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth,
went into the ark, with Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons-- they and all
beasts of every kind, all cattle of every kind, all creatures of every kind that creep
on the earth, and all birds of every kind, every bird, every winged thing.

. .They came to Noah into the ark, two each of all flesh in which there was breath
of life. Thus they that entered comprised male and female of all flesh, as God had
commanded him.

Again it's reiterated that the critters "came" to Noah; he didn't have to go on safari
to round them up; and then they entered the ark on their own without Noah and his
boys having to herd them in. That is really remarkable. It's like those critters
somehow knew that there was something terrible brewing and Noah's ark was the
only safe haven.

This is another example where a "day" can be longer than twenty-four hours; in
fact, the day here in Gen 7:13-16 is a whole week plus forty more days and nights.
Thus from the time of God's invitation to come into the ark, and up until it stopped
raining, was a day period consisting of 47 calendar days.
_