Genesis 7.17-24-The Extent of the Flood
Wednesday September 21, 2005
Genesis: Genesis 7:17-24-The Extent of the Flood
Lesson # 31
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 6:7.
This evening we will study Genesis 7:17-24, which records the extent of the Flood.
Critics of the Bible state that the Flood of Noah was “local” meaning that it did not encompass the entire earth but rather a particular local area or region.
Genesis 7:17-24 provides us with many reasons why the Flood that took place in the days of Noah was “universal” meaning it encompassed and destroyed the entire earth and was not confined to a particular geographical region of the earth.
Genesis 6:1-7:16 also provides us with many reasons that demonstrate that the Bible is describing a worldwide Flood and not a local flood.
Genesis 6:7, “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.’”
“Blot out” is the verb machah (hjm) (maw-khaw), which is used in the sense of the annihilation and obliteration of all human beings and animals and birds from the face of the earth, thus indicating that the Flood during the days of Noah was “universal” and not local.
Genesis 6:11-12 also records that “all” of the earth’s inhabitants were corrupt in the sight of God and if all were corrupt then the Flood was universal.
Genesis 6:11, “Now the earth (earth’s inhabitants) was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.”
Genesis 6:12, “God looked on the earth (earth’s inhabitants), and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.”
The phrases “the earth, the earth (earth’s inhabitants) was corrupt” and “the earth was filled with violence” are also further indications that the Flood was universal since if the Flood was local, God would not have used the phrase “the earth” but rather would have described a particular geographical region on the earth.
The phrase “all flesh” further indicates that Flood was worldwide since it refers to the entire human race, thus if the Flood was local God would not have used this expression but would have pointed out a particular group of people.
Genesis 6:13, “Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.’”
The fact that God said that He would destroy all the inhabitants of the earth because of their wickedness, clearly indicates that the Flood in the days of Noah was “universal” and not “local” as the critics of the Bible contend.
“Destroy” is the verb shachath (tj^vv*) (shaw-khath), which refers to the act of God in totally and completely destroying the entire human race with the earth and in particular with the water underneath the earth and above its atmosphere, thus, indicating that the Flood was worldwide and not local.
Genesis 6:17, “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.”
The phrase “to destroy all flesh” clearly indicates the Flood was worldwide since if it was confined to a particular region of the earth, God would not have used this expression but rather one that referred to a particular group of people located in a particular region.
“Everything that is on the earth will perish” clearly indicates that the Flood was worldwide since if it was local, God would not have used such an all inclusive word such as the Hebrew adjective kol, “everything” but would have used a different word or expression.
Genesis 7:1, “Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.’”
The fact that the Lord singled out Noah from the entire human race as the only one as being righteous on the earth is further indication that the Flood was universal since if it was local the Lord would have mentioned other individuals as being righteous.
Genesis 7:2, “You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female.”
Genesis 7:3, “also of the birds of the sky, by sevens (“seven pairs”), male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth.”
Genesis 7:4, “For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.”
“I will blot out” is the verb machah (hjm) (maw-khaw), which is used in the sense of the annihilation and obliteration of all human beings and animals and birds from the face of the earth, thus indicating that the Flood during the days of Noah was “universal” and not local.
“Every living thing” is the Hebrew expression `eth-kol-hayqum, which is an expression that encompasses every living creature on the earth and further indicates that the Flood was universal and if it was local, the Lord would not have used this expression.
“Thing” is the noun yequm (sWqy+) (yek-oom), which means, “all existence” and is a “collective” noun meaning that even though it is in the singular, it designates a group and encompasses both humans and animals and birds and all vegetation.
The fact that the Lord was about to destroy the entire earth and kill every living creature and all vegetation on the earth as well as every human being indicates that the Flood was “universal” and not “local.”
The New Testament confirms the Genesis record that the Flood was worldwide.
1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”
1 Peter 3:19, “in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.”
1 Peter 3:20, “who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”
1 Peter 3:20 records that the Flood was universal since Peter teaches that only a “few that is eight persons were brought safely through the water.”
2 Peter 2:4, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment.”
2 Peter 2:5, “and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.”
2 Peter 2:5 teaches that the Flood was worldwide since Peter teaches that God did not spare the antediluvian world but only Noah and his family.
Genesis 7:17, “Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth.”
“The flood” is the articular noun mabbul (lWBm^\) (mab-bool), which in the Old Testament always refers to the flood that took place during the days of Noah.
Genesis 7:18, “The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.”
The fact that the Flood was worldwide is indicated by the fact that the water rise was quickly sufficient to have the ark float indicating a depth of at least twenty feet in the earliest stages of the Flood, since the Ark was at least forty-four feet in height and heavily loaded.
The ark was far too large to accommodate a mere regional flood and was more than adequate to house two of every species of land animal in the entire world, living or extinct.
Furthermore, as the rains continued, the waters “prevailed,” a word in the Hebrew, which means literally, “were overwhelmingly mighty,” and would be quite inappropriate in the setting of a local flood.
Genesis 7:17, “Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth.”
Genesis 7:18, “The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.”
If the Flood were not universal, then the construction, outfitting and stocking of the Ark, so that it “floated on the surface of the water” would have been an absurd waste of time and materials.
Migration would have been a far better solution to the problem, for Noah as well as the birds and beasts.
Genesis 7:19, “The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered.”
The double superlative “all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens” cannot possibly be used in a relative sense as the proponents of the local flood theory contend.
Genesis 7:20, “The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.”
The fact that the water covered everything under heaven and in fact the high mountains is further indication that the Flood was universal.
“Fifteen cubits” is approximately 22 feet indicating the least depth of the water at any spot on the globe meaning above the highest mountains since they were covered.
Therefore, the Flood covered the mountains of Ararat, which the Ark eventually rested on.
The highest peak in this mountain range is 17,000 feet.
A 17,000-foot Flood is not a “local” flood.
Genesis 7:21, “All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind.”
The expression “all flesh that moved on the earth perished” indicates a universal flood since if it was a local flood, most creatures would escape death.
Genesis 7:22, “of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.”
In a local flood most people escape but the fact that Genesis 7:22 says that every human being died indicates that this was not a local flood.
A local flood would not have reached every human being.
Genesis 7:23, “Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.”
“Every living thing” is the Hebrew expression `eth-kol-hayqum, which is an expression that encompasses every living creature on the earth and further indicates that the Flood was universal.
“Thing” is the noun yequm (sWqy+) (yek-oom), which means, “all existence” and is a “collective” noun meaning that even though it is in the singular, it designates a group and encompasses both humans and animals and birds and all vegetation.
The fact that Noah and his family were the only ones that survived the flood is further indication that this flood was worldwide.
Genesis 7:24, “The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.”
Further evidence that the Flood during the days of Noah was universal is that no local flood continues to rise for 150 days.
The fact that even after four months of receding flood waters, the dove sent out by Noah could find no dry land on which to light further indicates that the Flood during the days of Noah was worldwide (Gen. 8:9).
The fact that it was over an entire year (7:11; 8:13) before enough land had been exposed to permit Noah and his family to leave the Ark is further evidence that the Flood was universal.
It is shocking that many Christians endorse a local flood theory because they have been intimidated by the pretensions of modern scholarship and that they would sooner give up “the praise of God” than “the praise of men” (John 12:43).
Also, further indicating a worldwide flood is that God promised that He would never destroy the earth again with a flood and if the flood during the days of Noah was local, then that promise would have been repeatedly broken if it were a local or regional flood.
The New Testament uses a unique term kataklusmos, “cataclysm” for the Flood of Noah (Mt. 24:39; Lk. 17:27; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:6) instead of the usual Greek word for “flood,” thus indicating a worldwide flood in the days of Noah.
Also, later Biblical writers accepted the universal Flood (Job 12:15; 22:16; Ps. 29:10; 104:6-9; Is. 54:9; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:5-6; Heb. 11:7).
Lastly, further indicating that the flood during the days of Noah was worldwide is that the Lord Jesus Christ accepted the historicity and universality of the Flood, even making it the climatic sign and type of His Second Advent (Mt. 24:37-39; Lk. 17:26-27).