The Great Deluge

Definition

Deluge: A severe flood

Cubit: 1.7 feet for today’s lesson

The Biblical Account

Ark Dimensions (Genesis 6:15)

length of the ark 300 cubits

510 ft

breadth 50 cubits

85 ft

height 30 cubits”

51 ft

Flood Description

lasted for 40 days (Genesis 7:17)

waters prevailed on the earth for 150 days (Genesis 7:24)

the seventh month and the seventeenth day, Noah's Ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4)

A year plus two months and twenty-seven days later the earth was dry enough so that Noah,his family, and the load of animals could disembark from the Ark (Genesis 8:14)

Other Flood Stories/Myths

Epic of Gilgamesh: written in the 18th century also known as The Babylonian Flood Myth

Hawaii: A man named Nu-u made a great canoe with a house on it and filled it with animals. In this story, the waters came up over all the earth and killed all the people; only Nu-u and his family were saved.

China: One of the Chinese legends explains that the flood was caused by an argument between a crab and a bird. Fuhi, his wife, three sons, and three daughters escaped a great flood and were the only people alive on earth. After the great flood, they repopulated the world.

Greece: There is more than one Greek flood myth, but the one that most likely corresponds to Noah’s Flood is about Deucalion who is told to build a chest to survive a flood. Some men on high mountains also survive, though.

The canopy theory

seeks to explain the reference in Genesis 1:6 to “the waters above the firmament,” assuming that “firmament,” or “expanse,” as the Hebrew word is alternatively translated, refers to our atmosphere. According to the canopy theory, there was a canopy of water above the atmosphere until the cataclysm of Noah’s day, at which point it disappeared either by collapsing upon the earth or dissipating into space. It is presumed to have consisted of water vapor because a canopy of ice could not have survived the constant bombardment of celestial objects like meteoroids which perpetually barrage the earth’s atmosphere.

This could explain:

· The longevity of life

· The lack of rainfall

Could God have only sent baby animals to the ark