†. Gen 7:1 . .Then The Lord said to Noah: Go into the ark, with all
your household; for you alone have I found righteous before Me in
this generation.
What besides piety might qualify as "righteous" in Noah's day? Answer:
belief that the Flood was coming. Here's an example of righteousness
merited simply by believing the Bible's God is truthful.
†. Gen 15:5-6 . . He brought Abraham forth abroad, and said: Look now
toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. And He
said unto him: So shall thy progeny be. And he believed in Yhvh-- and He
counted it to him for righteousness.
In other words: Noah was the only man in the antediluvian world who
believed God when He said "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the
earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them
with the earth."
When Noah heard those words; he became frightened; and thus was highly
motivated to construct the ark.
†. Heb 11:7 . . By faith Noah, being warned of things never before seen,
moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which
he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by
means of faith.
†. 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 not clean animals, are located
at Lev 11:1-46, and Deut 14:3-20. But those specs were written many,
many centuries after Noah; so precisely which animals were regarded as
clean, and which not clean, in his day is impossible to tell. But I think we can
safely assume that "clean" animals were those suitable at that time for
ceremonial purposes rather than for diet since God had not yet instructed
man to begin eating meat.
The specific species that Noah took aboard were limited to the ones that God
said at 6:20 "shall come to you". Any, and all, species that failed to come to
Noah, went extinct in 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.
The expression "all existence" is from yequwm (yek-oom') which means:
standing (extant) i.e. a living thing. Yequwm appears in only three verses of
the entire Old Testament. Two of them are here in chapter 7, and the other
one is in Deut 11:6.
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 deadline hung over the world's head like a sword of Damocles; and the
Flood was now imminent. But a seven-day 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
blasting 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 wishes to the letter.
†. Gen 7:6a . . Noah was six hundred years old
Noah died at 950. So the Flood came at roughly 63 percent of the way
through his life. According to the US Department of Health, an average
American born in 2007 can expect to live to about age 78. Using that as a
point of reference, Noah would have been roughly the equivalent of 49 years
old when the Flood started.
†. Gen 7:6b . . when the Flood came, waters upon the earth.
The word for Flood is from mabbuwl (mab-bool') which means: a deluge.
Mabbuwl is used twelve times in Genesis regarding Noah's worldwide
cataclysm. The only other place in the entire Old Testament where that word
is used again is in one of the Psalms; and even there it relates to Noah.
†. Ps 29:10 . .The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood; the Lord sits enthroned,
king forever.
NOTE : kings are male; ergo: it is proper to always refer to the Bible's God
with male pronouns; viz: him, his, and he.
Sometimes during huge natural disasters, people often ask: Where was God?
How could He let this thing happen? Well, I don't know about those
particular disasters but I do know about the deluge of Genesis. God was on
His throne during that one, and in charge of the whole thing all the way.
There's another word for flood in the Old Testament, but the Hebrew in
those instances is different. Mabbuwl stands out as uniquely indicative of this
one particular event.
†. 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.
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, know what I mean? 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 Man; 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?
Cont.
/
your household; for you alone have I found righteous before Me in
this generation.
What besides piety might qualify as "righteous" in Noah's day? Answer:
belief that the Flood was coming. Here's an example of righteousness
merited simply by believing the Bible's God is truthful.
†. Gen 15:5-6 . . He brought Abraham forth abroad, and said: Look now
toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. And He
said unto him: So shall thy progeny be. And he believed in Yhvh-- and He
counted it to him for righteousness.
In other words: Noah was the only man in the antediluvian world who
believed God when He said "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the
earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them
with the earth."
When Noah heard those words; he became frightened; and thus was highly
motivated to construct the ark.
†. Heb 11:7 . . By faith Noah, being warned of things never before seen,
moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which
he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by
means of faith.
†. 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 not clean animals, are located
at Lev 11:1-46, and Deut 14:3-20. But those specs were written many,
many centuries after Noah; so precisely which animals were regarded as
clean, and which not clean, in his day is impossible to tell. But I think we can
safely assume that "clean" animals were those suitable at that time for
ceremonial purposes rather than for diet since God had not yet instructed
man to begin eating meat.
The specific species that Noah took aboard were limited to the ones that God
said at 6:20 "shall come to you". Any, and all, species that failed to come to
Noah, went extinct in 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.
The expression "all existence" is from yequwm (yek-oom') which means:
standing (extant) i.e. a living thing. Yequwm appears in only three verses of
the entire Old Testament. Two of them are here in chapter 7, and the other
one is in Deut 11:6.
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 deadline hung over the world's head like a sword of Damocles; and the
Flood was now imminent. But a seven-day 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
blasting 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 wishes to the letter.
†. Gen 7:6a . . Noah was six hundred years old
Noah died at 950. So the Flood came at roughly 63 percent of the way
through his life. According to the US Department of Health, an average
American born in 2007 can expect to live to about age 78. Using that as a
point of reference, Noah would have been roughly the equivalent of 49 years
old when the Flood started.
†. Gen 7:6b . . when the Flood came, waters upon the earth.
The word for Flood is from mabbuwl (mab-bool') which means: a deluge.
Mabbuwl is used twelve times in Genesis regarding Noah's worldwide
cataclysm. The only other place in the entire Old Testament where that word
is used again is in one of the Psalms; and even there it relates to Noah.
†. Ps 29:10 . .The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood; the Lord sits enthroned,
king forever.
NOTE : kings are male; ergo: it is proper to always refer to the Bible's God
with male pronouns; viz: him, his, and he.
Sometimes during huge natural disasters, people often ask: Where was God?
How could He let this thing happen? Well, I don't know about those
particular disasters but I do know about the deluge of Genesis. God was on
His throne during that one, and in charge of the whole thing all the way.
There's another word for flood in the Old Testament, but the Hebrew in
those instances is different. Mabbuwl stands out as uniquely indicative of this
one particular event.
†. 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.
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, know what I mean? 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 Man; 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?
Cont.
/
