Genesis 6 Part III: Preparation for the Deluge

From the last installment we know that God had decided to destroy everything on the face of the earth because it was corrupt and the people were violent. Noah, however, found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

God tells Noah of His plan to flood the earth and tells him to build an ark. For some reason people like to mention that gopher wood was used in construction. I don’t know what gopher wood is. Modern translations will often indicate that cypress was used. In fact, if we research the ancient Hebrew word, rp,GO ,we find that its meaning has been lost to antiquity. We no longer know what kind of wood was used. The KJV says that Noah was to build rooms in the ark. A more accurate term might be more like “nests.” Neither of these issues seem important to the story, anyway.

Notice that Noah is never recorded as speaking during the entire flood account. We can only presume that he obeyed the divine instructions given to him. The ark would be over 150 yards long and over 25 yards wide. There is a little confusion over the precise length of a cubit. Still, it will be a very large watercraft, considerably longer than a football field, and about 45 feet tall with three floors.

Noah is then instructed to take a male and a female of each sort of beast onto the ark with him and his family along with sufficient food. Then we have another sentence commending Noah. Genesis 6:22 He was faithful, which seems to necessarily imply that he was obedient.
With a close read of chapters 6 and 7 we find many questions. Why are there two accounts of the animals to be taken aboard? Why do they differ? I currently believe that the “documentary hypothesis” has the best explanation for this. This was discussed in a previous installment, Genesis 1 & 2 Part IV. While I see no evidence to doubt the tradition that Moses was the original human author of the Pentateuch (Torah, first five books of the OT), perhaps it was handed down through different populations, which altered it inadvertently over time.

Then, when later redactors (800-500 B.C.) were faced with these differing accounts, rather than accept one as correct and another incorrect, they chose to include them all. It is just a hypothesis, but as we go through the OT, we will find many stories told two or even three times with subtle and not so subtle differences.

Moreover, what about the fish and the aquatic mammals? What about the barometric pressures at heights as high as Mount Ararat, or even Mount Everest? Where will all of this water come from and where will it go? Will the flood bring salt water or fresh water? How did the kangaroo get to Australia and the sloth to South America in the course of about 4000 years? Much is made of these questions. Yet if we have already accepted faith in a God, Yahweh, Who created everything out of nothing, then possible answers come pretty easily.

Those who wish to view each passage in the Bible with scientific precision and/or feel that God is bound to the physical laws that He, Himself, created will find several logical difficulties. Chapter 7 will elicit several interesting questions.

I still maintain beyond doubt that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. It was inerrant to its initial audience, and is inerrant for us in all that it intends to teach. We need to be careful not to acquire unintended knowledge through misinterpretation, or reading out of context.

So what do you think? What explanations have you heard? What logical difficulties arise in your mind? This can be an intellectual pursuit and yet have no affect on our faith. There are too many theories to enumerate in a blog entry but perhaps you would like to comment on some.

Truly, many humans and beasts will perish in the flood of chapter 7. But the focus is on salvation by God's grace through faith like that of Noah. May God bless us with His ever-increasing grace.