Kicking Off With Genesis

  • Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.

    You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Jay Ross

Well-Known Member
Jun 20, 2011
6,760
2,523
113
QLD
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
-
Genesis 6:3-4

Gen 6:3a . . And Yhvh said: My Spirit shall not strive with man
forever

Some translations have "abide" instead of strive. But the Hebrew word is
diyn (deen) which means: to rule; by implication: to judge (as umpire); also
to strive (as at law). It can also mean to plead the cause of; or to contend in
argument.

So. How did "My Spirit" accomplish this striving with man? In person
Himself? No; just like He always has: via a holy man.

"Noah, a preacher of righteousness" (2Pet 2:5)

According to 1Pet 3:18-20, the Spirit of Christ and My Spirit are one and the
same spirit. In point of fact; according to 1Pet 1:10-11, all the Old
Testament preachers (a..k.a. prophets) were motivated by the Spirit of
Christ. (cf. Rom 8:9 and 1Cor 6:19 where the Spirit of Christ and The Spirit
are again seen as one and the same spirit)

Anyway, point being: there does come a time when God's patience runs out.
Not because He can't take it anymore, but because when human beings
become too decadent and too incorrigible, then any more reasoning with
them would be like throwing good money after bad; and risky too.

"Do not give what is sacred to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to
pieces." (Matt 7:6)

It's sad but true: there are people out there so devoid of spiritual values that
they're practically feral.

Contrary to the mushy, sob-sister brand of Christianity going around like
swine flu, there is a time when forgiveness is not only impractical, but it's
also unreasonable. Hell is populated with people who will never, ever be
forgiven. They crossed a line and now there's no going back; ever. God no
longer has any interest in their welfare. They are forgotten and ignored; and
can expect neither pity nor sympathy from God ever again.

Gen 6:3b . . for they are only flesh.

The problem with flesh is it's brevity. Because people eventually die, God
has a limited amount of time to work with them before they pass on.

Gen 6:3c . . yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty
years.

Some feel that God set the limits of human longevity in that verse. But
people still continued to live long lives for a great number of years
afterwards. Even Abraham, who lived many, many years after the Flood,
didn't die till he was 175 years old. It's far more reasonable to conclude that
God was announcing a deadline; viz: they had 120 years left to get ready to
meet their maker. But you think that alarmed anybody? Heck no. They went
right on; business as usual.

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of
Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in
marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and
destroyed them all." (Luke 17:26-27)

Gen 6:4 . .There were giants on the earth in those days, and also
afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men,
and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who
were of old, men of renown.

The Hebrew word for "giants" in that passage is nephiyl (nef-eel') or nephil
(nef-eel') and I have no clue why the KJV's scholars translated it giants
because it doesn't mean that at all. For one thing; it's an ambiguous word
with more than one meaning. It can indicate someone who cuts, knocks, or
brings things down, or a killer; and/or bullies and tyrants.

Now; granted that some bullies are big guys; but not all tyrants are big
guys. Take for example Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, He isn't especially
imposing but Mr. Jong Il sure knows how to exercise power excessively and
brutally.

In other words: nephiyl doesn't necessarily indicate a special race of people;
but simply people whose ambition is to dominate others; even if they have
to completely destroy their culture and kill them all off to do it; viz: nephiyl
personalities are not good followers nor are they very good team players. It
can be accurately said of nephiyl personalities that they would rather rule in
hell than serve in heaven. In other words: if they can't conquer God, then
they would just as soon have nothing to do with Him.

Historical examples of nephiyl types would be men like Genghis Khan of
Mongolia, and Alexander the Great of Greece; Napoleon of France, Peter
Alekseyevich Romanov of Russia, Chandragupta Maurya of India, shogun
Minamoto no Yoritomo of Japan, conquistador Hernando Cortes of Spain,
Timur: founder of the Timurid dynasty, and Zahir-ud din Muhammad Babur:
founder of the Mughal dynasty that ruled the Indian subcontinent for over
three centuries.

Q: If all the nephiyl types drowned in the Flood; then how did their
characteristics manage to resurface down the road?

A: Well; from whence did nephiyl types originate in the first place? Same
place every other personality type originated: from Adam's genes; viz: since
Noah and his wife, and his sons and their wives, were Adam's descendants,
then nephiyl characteristics survived the Flood by riding it out in the DNA of
the people aboard the ark.

/

In your first paragraph in which you make the claim that the Hebrew word is din/diyn, is not true. According the Bible Hub web page, the transliterated word found in this verse is yā·ḏō·wn and is the only occurrence of this Hebrew word in the Old Testament.



Strong's Concordance

din: to judge

Original Word: דִּין
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: din
Phonetic Spelling: (deen)
Short Definition: judge


Strong Number: - H:1777

Transliterated: - yā·ḏō·wn

Actual Hebrew Word in verse: - יָד֨וֹן

Meaning of word: – will contend

Part of Speech: – A Verb



You also make the claim that Noah preached to the people before the flood but it is not recorded that he ever did nor is it recorded that God required him to do so. The 2 Peter 2:5 reference you quoted tells us that Noah was a herald of righteous which all “Christians” should be in their daily living. From memory the Book of Jasher suggests that Noah preached for the people to repent but this book also suggests that he moved away from the people when he began to build the ark.


Now with regards to the 120 years within around 25 descendant generation the length of the life of mankind had reduced from Noah’s time to a maximum length of 120 years.


Patrairch Age they died
Noah 950
Shem 600
Arachshad 438
Shelah 433
Eber 464
Peleg 239
Reu 239
Serug 230
Nahor 148
Terah 205
Abram (Abraham) 175
Isaac 180
Jacob 147
Joseph 110
Aaron 120
Moses 120
Joshua 110


God set in motion the means by which the age of mankind would be reduced such that when he began interacting once again with many people the age of the people had reduced down to 120 years on average in length.
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:5-7

Gen 6:5 . . And the Lord saw that the evil of man was great in the
earth, and every imagination of his heart was only evil all the time.


Man's descent into depravity didn't catch his creator by surprise. After all;
not only can God see the future but He can also manipulate it; so He was
well aware even before Gen 1:1 that the people He was about to create were
destined from day-one for a global deluge.

Also, when God inspected His handiwork at Gen 1:31, He evaluated it not
just good, but "very" good. So as far as He was concerned; everything was
going smoothly and according to plan-- nothing was broken, no parts were
missing, and nothing was maladjusted.

Gen 6:6 . . And the Lord regretted that He had made man upon the
earth, and He became grieved in His heart.


I seriously doubt that the regret and grief that God felt was somehow related
to His thinking that creating human life was a big mistake. It's difficult to
discern from the language and grammar of the text; but it's far more likely
that the regret God felt in Gen 6:6 was directly related to what He was about
to do next: the destruction of a major portion of the life that He himself put
on earth.

In other words; the destruction of life is not something God enjoys as if He
were an outdoor guy who kills fish and wildlife for sport with no more
sensitivity than a kid blasting aliens in a video game. Man's creator knew the
day was coming when He would have to do what He was about to do next,
and clearly wasn't looking forward to it.

But to be quite forthright; it seems insane to me that God would go forward
with plans to create life on earth knowing in advance that He would one day
be destroying so much of it. Where's the logic in that? I just don't get it; but
then, no surprise there.

The human mind is produced by a three-pound lump of flabby organic
tissue, and not even all three of those pounds are utilized for cognitive
processes; 60% of the human brain's mass is fat. All considered: the human
mind is practically that of an insect in comparison to the mind of the
inventor who created human life.

Gen 6:7 . . And the Lord said: I will blot out man, whom I created,
from upon the face of the earth, from man to cattle to creeping
thing, to the fowl of the heavens, for I regret that I made them.


The destruction of earth's birds and beasts was unavoidable; they became
collateral damage in God's war against the sinful antediluvians.

The Hebrew word for "blot" is from machah (maw-khaw') which means: to
stroke or rub; by implication, to erase; also to smooth (as if with oil), i.e.
grease or make fat; also to touch, i.e. reach to.

God intended to not only remove the antediluvians from the face of the
earth, but also to scrub off all of their works too so that when He was done,
it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to even be able to tell the
antediluvians were ever here at all.

It's always been a mystery to me why paleo-anthropologists have managed
to find so few fossilized remains of pre-historic human beings.

In 1992, Tim White of the University of California at Berkeley, discovered the
fossilized skeletons of human-like creatures in Ethiopia's Afar Rift who lived
4.4 million years ago but those are not the remains of h.sapiens; but rather,
of beasts that resemble h.sapiens. To my knowledge; no truly human
remains have been found from that era.

While mysterious; that lack of remains isn't exclusive. Take for instance the
Passenger Pigeon. That bird at one time numbered an estimated four to five
billion individuals; which is a number equal in quantity to the current year
round population of all North American birds combined. Yet an archeological
search for the pigeon's bones left behind by people who ate the bird for
food, through all pre-Columbian times, has thus far yielded very few
remains; at only two sites.

But my point is: where are the remains of the antediluvians? They're gone;
lock, stock, and barrel-- no metal implements from Tubal-Cain's blacksmith
shop, no musical instruments from Jubal's work shop, no dwellings, no
footprints, no bones, no pottery, no cave art, not even any geological
evidence of a world-wide deluge: nothing. It's like they were never here.

God moved against the antediluvians like a relentless newspaper editor
deleting superfluous words and sentences so skillfully that the reader cannot
even tell those superfluous words and sentences ever existed in the original
copy.

Why would God do that? I would hazard to guess that His purpose in doing
so was to prevent people from believing too easily that the Flood actually
happened.

The funny thing about the Bible is that portions of it are just as effective at
driving people away from God as they are at attracting them. No doubt it is
God's wishes that everybody believe the Bible; but at the same time it
seems He's thwarted His own wishes by taking steps to ensure that a
substantial number of people don't. For example:

"Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: You have seen all that The
Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his
servants and all his land; the great trials which your eyes have seen, those
great signs and wonders. Yet to this day The Lord has not given you a heart
to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear." (Deut 29:2-4)

"No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father
except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matt
11:27)

"A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are
foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned." (1Cor 2:14)

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:8-10

Gen 6:8 . . But Noah found favor with The Lord.

The word for "favor" is from chen (khane) and means: graciousness.
Translators sometimes render chen as grace. But the important thing is that
The Lord didn't find chen with Noah. No, just the opposite-- Noah found chen
with The Lord.

Webster's defines graciousness as: kind, courteous, inclined to good will,
generous, charitable, merciful, altruistic, compassionate, thoughtful, cordial,
affable, genial, sociable, cheerful, warm, sensitive, considerate, and tactful.

Those are all good qualities, and the very things you would expect to see in
someone you loved and trusted-- like your spouse or a very close friend.

Gen 6:9a . .This is the line of Noah.-- Noah was a righteous man;

The Hebrew word for "righteous" is tsaddiyq (tsad-deek') which means: just.

Webster's provides several definitions of "just", but perhaps the ones best
suited for our purpose are: conscientious, honest, honorable, right,
scrupulous, true, dependable, reliable, tried, trustworthy, dispassionate,
equal, equitable, impartial, nondiscriminatory, objective, unbiased,
uncolored, and unprejudiced. So then, Noah was not only religious to his
fingertips; but he was a pretty decent guy to boot.

The kind of righteousness spoken of in Gen 6:9a is a personal kind of
righteousness. There's also a spiritual righteousness, but I don't think that's
in view here. The emphasis is upon Noah as a man rather than a believer;
though according to Heb 11:7 he was that too.

Gen 6:9b . . he was blameless in his era; Noah walked with God.

Is that verse saying Noah was flawless? No; perfection in the Bible means
something altogether different than what you'd expect. The Hebrew word for
"blameless" is tamiym (taw-meem') which just simply means entire; in other
words; sound, i.e. no pieces missing and everything in working order;
indicating that Noah was not only a man of faith, but also a man who put his
faith into practice.

The most incredible thing about Noah was his degree of piety in a world
gone mad with evil. He was actually a nobody in his day; eclipsed by the
nephiyl types. They got all the press, the publicity, and the notoriety while
God's man went marginalized and largely ignored. Yet he persisted; and
continued pounding a pulpit right up to the end.

Gen 6:10 . . Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Were those the only kids Noah had? And no daughters? I seriously doubt it.
Noah was six hundred when the flood began. It is unlikely that a healthy,
hard working, robust man would live that long without engendering a much
larger family than three; especially in those days without birth control. But
these three boys are the only ones that count now because they're going on
the ark with their dad.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:11-14c

Gen 6:11a . .The earth became corrupt before God;

The word for "earth" is 'erets (eh'-rets) which technically refers to the planet
(Gen 1:1).

I think we're going to see that the planet wasn't corrupt due to itself going
bad, rather, the activities of its human inhabitants.

The word for "corrupt" is shachath (shaw-khath') which means: to decay,
decompose, and/or disintegrate; viz: to become decadent.

The perspective "before God" indicates the Almighty's own personal
estimation. No doubt the antediluvians disagreed with God's evaluation of
their spiritual condition just like people today disagree with His evaluation.
And again, this disparity of evaluations has its roots all the way back in the
garden when humans became their own Gods; discerning right and wrong
from within a humanistic system of values instead of their creator's.

Gen 6:11b . . the earth was filled with lawlessness.

Crime is pretty much inevitable in a world of sinful beings sans cops and
courts. Nobody was accountable for a single thing in those days. The only
rules that may have existed were those among clans or in towns. But those
rules wouldn't be universal. Rules like that would be different from clan to
clan and from town to town. And primitive clans are known to war with each
other on a regular basis like the Native Americans did here in America's
early years.

I just hope I don't live to see the day when some sort of nationwide disaster,
like a nuclear holocaust, occurs in America. Nobody will be safe. Electrical
power will be out, the banks won't be open, ATM machines won't work, and
everyone will be so desperate to survive.

Roving gangs of thugs will prowl the rubble looking to scavenge and to steal
anything not nailed down or protected by guards. Law enforcement and
medical services will be so overwhelmed that dialing 911 will be no more
productive than writing a letter to Santa Claus; that is, if telephones even
work. If hurricanes Katrina and Sandy taught us anything in New Orleans
and Manhattan, it's that large-scale disasters produce large-scale anarchy
and chaos.

The criminal element has neither honor nor sympathy for its victims. After
the September 29, 2009 tsunami subsided in Samoa, residents returned to
neighborhoods only to find that their homes had been looted.

According to the 2016 World Almanac, in the year 2013, there were a total
of 1,163,146 violent crimes committed in the USA . The number of property
crimes totaled 8,632,512. Those totals exclude crimes like arson, perjury,
forgery, insider trading, contempt of court, bail jumping, internet hacking,
traffic violations, J-walking, trespassing, animal abuse, feeding parking
meters, cheating on taxes; et al.

And to think the USA and its territories are a society of law abiding citizens.
Just think what it must have been like in Noah's day with no law
enforcement whatsoever to control crime. All I can say is; if something really
bad should ever happen here in the USA, you'd better own deadly weapons
like swords and guns plus lots of pepper and/or bear spray because neither
your life nor your possessions will be safe after dark.

Gen 6:12-13a . . God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all
the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah: I
am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with
violence because of them.


Some people would probably like to translate some of that verse like this:
"for the earth is filled with violence through God." But Genesis doesn't say it
was filled with violence through God; no, God said it was filled with violence
through them.

Gen 6:13b . . I am about to destroy them with the earth.

Here is set a precedent of God forewarning His own when He is about to
execute a disastrous event upon the earth. The Passover was another such
example. God forewarned Moses, and Moses' people, of the imminent
annihilation of all the firstborn of Man and Beast in Egypt; which would also
impact Moses and his people if they didn't do exactly as God said and paint
the blood of a lamb on their door jambs (Ex 11:1-13).

And our man Noah, super-duper righteous man that he was, would have
drowned right along with the rest of the antediluvians had he neglected to
construct an ark. When God gives a warning, it is best to respond
accordingly.

"A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going
and suffer for it." (Pro 22:3)

Gen 6:14a . . Make yourself an ark

The Hebrew word for ark is tebah (tay-baw') and just simply indicates, not a
ship, but a nondescript box. The only other place tebah is used again in the
Old Testament is of the little watertight container Moses' mom constructed
to hide her little boy from Pharaoh's assassins. (Ex 2:1-10)

Gen 6:14b . . of gopher wood;

Nobody really knows for sure exactly what kind of trees Noah used to make
the ark. The word for "gopher" has nothing to do with little subterranean
rodents. It's a transliteration of the Hebrew word gopher (go'-fer) which only
suggests a kind of tree suitable for building structures out of wood. Some
think it was cypress because the wood of those trees is so resinous that it
resists rotting even after prolonged submersion in water. Others think it may
have been cedar or spruce; which are good too.

Unfortunately, this is the one and only occurrence of gopher in the entire Old
Testament so there's no other passages that might help identify a specific
kind of tree.

Gen 6:14c . . make it an ark with compartments,

The word for "compartments" is from qen (kane) which means: a nest (as
fixed), sometimes including the nestlings; figuratively, a chamber or
dwelling. The construction of nests (and stalls) indicates the animals weren't
just herded or jammed together like the crowds attending an outdoor
Metallica rock concert. They were neatly stowed aboard in their own areas
and apparently made to feel quite comfortable.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:14d-15a

Gen 6:14d . . and cover it inside and out with pitch.

The word for "pitch" is kopher (ko'-fer) which means: a cover. It can also
mean a village (as covered in); and also bitumen (as used for coating) and
the henna plant (as used for dye).

Kopher is a common word in the Old testament for "atonement" which is like
pitch as a coating, or a covering, which not only serves the purpose of a
sealing compound like the stuff people apply to weatherproof their patio
decks, but also a concealment coating like paint and/or tar and feathers.


NOTE: Old Testament atonements, while gaining offenders a pardon, do
nothing to exonerate them; viz: atonements don't expunge their history, i.e.
their offenses stay on the books like a rap sheet, and available to God as a
means of evaluating peoples' character. This is pretty serious because
according to Rev 20:11-15, those books are going to be opened for
examination to determine whether people qualify for a pass to heaven. (God
has figured out a way to expunge people's records so that they can be
legally adjudged innocent, but it's not within the scope of a study in
Genesis.)

Anyway; coating the ark with bitumen not only served to waterproof it; but
also preserved the wood for future uses after the Flood subsided and Noah
no longer had need of a titanic water craft.


NOTE: Bitumen is a naturally-occurring kind of asphalt formed from the
remains of ancient, microscopic algae (diatoms) and other once-living
things. In order for bitumen to be available in Noah's day, the organisms
from whence it was formed had to have existed on the earth several
thousands of years before him. In point of fact, I read somewhere that the
biomass that gave us fossil fuels existed even before the dinosaurs. That's
really going back a ways.

Gen 6:15a . .This is how you shall make it:

What if Noah had some ideas of his own? Would that have been alright? No;
when God says "you shall" and/or "you shall not" then that's the law.

Some object that since paper and writing were not yet invented in Noah's
day, then God couldn't possible have provided him with plans for the ark.
But any pictograph, even one on a clay tablet or a rock face, qualifies as a
drawing. That objection infers that God was illiterate until Man learned to
read. (chuckle) I guess it just never occurs to them that holy men like Noah
were far more advanced than your average cave-dwelling hominid.

Other skeptics object that a wooden vessel the size of Noah's ark couldn't be
built because the timbers required for its structural strength would have
been so massive that Noah would never have managed to assemble its
pieces and parts.

But ancient craftsmen were far more ingenious than most people living
today realize. 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. And the Egyptians
aren't the only ones to mystify us. There are ancient stone structures around
the world that seem impossible to be erected by human hands prior to the
age of heavy industrial machinery; but nevertheless, there they are.

And not to forget that Noah's God was in the project. Since that's the case,
it's not unreasonable to assume God also provided Noah the tools necessary
to complete the task He assigned; and very, very possibly chipped in to help
out with the construction too. When people fail to factor in God, they
invariably end up mystified. To this day scientists are baffled about the
origin of the cosmos, with all of its life, matter, and energy, because they
refuse to factor God into their thinking.

How did Noah cut the logs that went into constructing the ark? Well;
according to the Bible, Cain's people were proficient with metals. If nothing
else; it's probably pretty certain that Noah had at least a metal hammer and
an axe; maybe several metal hammers and axes; and quite possibly saws
too.

"And Zillah she too bore Tubal-cain, who sharpened all tools that cut copper
and iron" (Gen 4:2 courtesy of Chabad.org)

How did Noah join the logs and other wooden pieces that went into
constructing the ark? Well; you know, a good cabinet maker can assemble a
very nice armoire without using nuts and bolts by the strategic use of dowels
and clever joinery like grooves, rabbets, dovetails, mortises, and tenons.

Others object that a wooden vessel the size of the ark would never hold up
on the open sea without steel reinforcement; especially when the super
storm of Gen 8:1 began blowing to mop up the water. But again; those
objectors typically fail to factor in God's involvement in the Flood. You really
think He left the only surviving humans and the only surviving beasts on the
whole planet to the mercy of the elements?

No; with God's oversight, even a house of cards would have survived the
Flood had He wished it to because the strength of natural materials isn't
fixed; they can be greatly enhanced, e.g. Samson (Judg 13:2-16:31). He
was just an ordinary man of flesh and blood; but via God's intervention,
Samson became strong enough to do things that no one man alone could
possibly attempt unassisted.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:15b-16a

Gen 6:15b . . the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its
width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.


There was a cubit among the Babylonians, and one in Egypt too. But there
seems to have existed double standards in both countries. Because of that,
there exists no undisputed example of the cubit that remains to the present
time; so the length of the cubit has been variously estimated.

One of the ancient cubits was the length of a man's forearm, from the elbow
to the tip of the middle finger, as is implied from the derivation of the word
in Hebrew and from the Latin cubitum. It seems to be referred to also in
Deut 3:11 as "after the cubit of a man." But that's too vague, and unsuitable
for a scientific standard because not all men's arms are exactly alike.

The Babylonians employed two different cubits: the so-called royal cubit and
the common cubit. From the remains of buildings in Assyria and Babylonia,
the royal cubit is made out to be about 20.6 inches. A cubit of similar length
was used in Egypt. This was probably the cubit mentioned by Ezk 40:5 and
possibly that of Solomon's temple as "cubits after the first measure" (2 Chr
3:3)

The commercial cubit was shorter, and has been variously estimated at
between 16 and 18 inches or more, but the evidence of the Siloam
inscription and of the tombs in Palestine seems to indicate 17.6 inches as
the average length. This was the cubit of six palms, while the longer one
was of seven (Ezk 40:5). The cubit mentioned in Judges 3:16 is from a
different word, the Hebrew gomedh, and was probably shorter.

The cubit of Noah's day remains a total mystery. We have no way of
knowing exactly how long it was. Maybe Noah and his boys passed on their
antediluvian knowledge of weights and measures to the post-flood world and
it stayed pretty close to the original standards over the years; but it's
impossible to know for sure.

If we use an 18-inch cubit as a close approximation, then the ark would
have been in the neighborhood of 450' long x 75' wide x 45' high. The ark's
beam was 30 feet wider than its height, so should have proved very stable,
and difficult to capsize even in rough seas-- especially since it had a flat
bottom, which was good too for the purpose intended.

Nothing fancy. Since the ark didn't have to navigate; then it didn't require a
means of propulsion nor was there any practical use for a bow, or a stern, or
a wheel house, a rudder, sails, engine room, anchor, windlasses, or masts--
not even a handrail around the main deck. Since the ark didn't have to cut
through the water like a schooner, then it didn't need tapered undersides. All
the ark really had to do was float. It was really nothing in the world but a
barge: and a very crude barge at that. Really little more than a very large
watertight crate.

Compared to modern ships, 450 feet is not all that big. Oil tankers are
around 1,500, and the Nimitz aircraft carrier is about 1,092 feet. The
distance from home plate to the center field fence in major league baseball,
averages 400 feet or better. So the ark would just about fit into Yankee
stadium. The main playing area of a football field is 300 feet. Add 26 more
for the end zones, and the total is 326; which is still 124 feet short of the
ark's length but at least gives some idea of its scale.

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. Whether or not the window was shuttered isn't
stated, but was very likely 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.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:16b-17

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 very bottom of a ship is normally not counted as a deck. 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 because 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 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 101,250
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 in his day.

By the time h.sapiens appeared on this old earth of ours, some colossal
mass extinctions 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.

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 in his day, it had to be quite a
feat.

Gen 6:17 . . For My part, I am about to bring the Flood-- waters
upon the earth-- 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 ark. No. The idea of localized flooding is
totally unacceptable because "the sky" is everywhere.

Ironically, and perhaps even humorously, many of the people arguing for a
localized Flood are convinced it's a myth anyway so I have no clue where
they see the point of arguing its extent.

The word for "waters" is from mayim (mah'-yim) which 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.

Were the waters of the Flood fresh or salt? It doesn't matter, since the one
who created the physical requirements of all life is easily able to adapt it to
suit His purposes. But the sea's saltiness isn't static; it's increasing all the
time, and always has. Which means that if you were to go back in time, the
sea was a lot less salty in Noah's day than it is today; ergo: aquatic life's
adjustment to dilution back in his day wouldn't have been as extreme as
aquatic life's adjustment would be in our day.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:16b-17

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 very bottom of a ship is normally not counted as a deck. 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 because 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 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 101,250
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 in his day.

By the time h.sapiens appeared on this old earth of ours, some colossal
mass extinctions 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.

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 in his day, it had to be quite a
feat.

Gen 6:17 . . For My part, I am about to bring the Flood-- waters
upon the earth-- 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 ark. No. The idea of localized flooding is
totally unacceptable because "the sky" is everywhere.

Ironically, and perhaps even humorously, many of the people arguing for a
localized Flood are convinced it's a myth anyway so I have no clue where
they see the point of arguing its extent.

The word for "waters" is from mayim (mah'-yim) which 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.

Were the waters of the Flood fresh or salt? It doesn't matter, since the one
who created the physical requirements of all life is easily able to adapt it to
suit His purposes. But the sea's saltiness isn't static; it's increasing all the
time, and always has. Which means that if you were to go back in time, the
sea was a lot less salty in Noah's day than it is today; ergo: aquatic life's
adjustment to dilution back in his day wouldn't have been as extreme as
aquatic life's adjustment would be in our day.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:18-20

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.

A man named Dave Kunst walked across today's world in just a little over 4
years from June 1970 to October 1974. Kunst walked a total of 14,450
miles, crossing four continents and thirteen countries, wearing out 21 pair of
shoes, and walking more than 20 million steps. That was an odd thing to do,
but does prove it can be done in a relatively short time; so 120 years was
plenty enough for all the critters to make it on over to Noah's place in time
for the Folly's maiden voyage.

If the ark were to launch in 2017, critters would have been on the move
towards it since 1897-- six years before the Wright Brothers historical
flight, and fifteen 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 now know
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.

Scientists also know about magma hot spots and pressure points that can
raise and lower the earth's crust like a service elevator. Subduction no doubt
played a role by pushing sea beds up above sea level and made to form land
bridges; thus expediting migration.

This idea is by no means novel. For example: in 2014, a 9,000 year-old
stone structure used to capture caribou was discovered 120 feet below the
surface of Lake Huron; and is the most complex structure of its kind in the
Great Lakes region.

The structure consists of two parallel lanes of stones leading to a cul-de-sac.
Within the lanes are three circular hunting blinds where prehistoric hunters
hid while taking aim at caribou. The structure's size and design suggest that
hunting was probably a group effort, with one group driving caribou down
the lanes towards the blinds while another group waited to attack.

The site-- discovered by using sonar technology on the Alpena-Amberley
Ridge, 35 miles southeast of Alpena Michigan --was once a dry land corridor
connecting northeastern Michigan to southern Ontario.

Ten miles off the coast of Alabama in 60 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico,
are the remains of a Bald Cypress grove that's estimated to be eight to
fourteen thousand years old; testifying that the earth's topography was
quite a bit different in the ancient past.

Actually the Earth's mantle is one continuous (albeit fractured) mass
anyway, although its profile is so irregular that dry land sticks up above sea
level at various high spots; which is a good thing because if the mantle were
smooth, the world would be quite flooded all the time. In point of fact, if the
Earth's mantle were perfectly smooth, like a billiard ball, there's enough
water present even today to cover the land to a depth of 9,000 feet of
water. That would be equivalent to a global ocean approximately 1.7 miles
deep.

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 for the supreme being who 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 solar hours apiece.

/
 

Jay Ross

Well-Known Member
Jun 20, 2011
6,760
2,523
113
QLD
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
-
Genesis 6:18-20
<snip>

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.

<snip>

/

Really, from the silence of the Bible, you can claim that Noah took 120 years to build the Ark?

All that we know is that God said that he would not contend with mankind for more than 120 years from when He made this decision. God after His Sabbath Day of Rest, which incidentally was a little over 1,000 years in duration, made this decision to shorten the lifespan of mankind. We can see that Noah's sons lives were shortened and that the shortening of the length of the lives of mankind deceased up and until the time of the exodus from Egypt of the nation of Israel, when God again began interacting with people on a national scale. God made his decisions to shorten the length of the lives of mankind and to flood the earth during the time interval of around 600 years between the end of God's Sabbath Day of rest and the beginning of the Flood. We know the time interval of when these decisions were made but not the actual years in which these decisions were made. The Bible is really silent on when these decisions were made.

What you have presented is pure speculation mixed in with the speculation of "tradition", but why let the facts get in the way of telling a very good plausible story when embellishment is the natural order of the day.
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 6:21-22
Continuing from post #89

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.

Noah was every supervisor's dream. He did just what he was told and all
with nary an argument; nor a single protest.

God didn't specify precisely how much food to load aboard. He only
instructed him 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.

It began to rain on the 17th day of the second month of the 600th year of
Noah's life. The Earth was dry on the 27th day of the second month of his
601st year. So, reckoning time according to prophetic months of 30 days
each, and not counting the final day, Noah's crew and passengers were
aboard the ark for a total of 370 days; which is roughly 5 days over a solar
year, and 10 days over a prophetic year.

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? Carnivores can be domesticated when the situation calls for it.
Take for example Daniel in the den of lions. None tried to eat him. And
according to Isa 11:6-9 and Isa 65:25, there's a day coming when the
nature of carnivores will be changed to that of herbivores.

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. For example: arctic ground squirrels can lower their body
temperature below freezing and avoid serious head injuries while hibernating
for as long seven months. Why the little guys don't freeze to death is a
mystery.

Others have proposed that Noah didn't actually load an entire year's supply
of food aboard the ark. Just a minimum amount that God then miraculously
sustained. That too is a very plausible explanation.

For example: there are incidents in the Bible where small amounts of food
stuffs were miraculously extended. One example is 1Kgs 17:8-16 where a
tiny bit of flour and oil nourished Elijah and a widow woman, and her son,
for a good many days during a time of prolonged drought.

Another incident is at 2Kgs 4:1-7 where a certain widow's husband died and
left her deeply in debt. God extended her last pot of oil sufficiently to sell off
enough to retire her debts, thereby saving her two sons from slavery.

At 1Kgs 19:5-9, when Elijah was running away from that horrible Jezebel, he
was fatigued and napping under a bush when a messenger of God woke him
up to eat a single biscuit and drink some water. Elijah survived on the
nourishment of that measly little snack for the next forty days.

I'm not insisting that God sustained everyone aboard the ark via hibernation
and/or like He did Elijah and the widows. But in the light of nature's
examples, and the Bible's examples, it isn't unreasonable to believe that's
exactly what happened. Many details remain a mystery and apparently God
didn't feel it was important for everybody to know how He and Noah did it.
Well; that's His decision and I respect it; but I still wish Genesis told us
more.

Another logistics problem was feeding everybody when the Flood was over.
What would they eat then? Well, that was no problem. The olive leaf that a
dove had in her beak at Gen 8:10-11 indicates that earth's flora was spared
mass extinction by the Flood. The Hebrew word for "plucked-off" is from
taraph (taw-rawf') which means: recently torn off; in other words: the dove
didn't pick up an old dead leaf lying around on the ground; no, it was fresh
cut and green right off the tree.


NOTE: The prairie grasses that once flourished in America's corn belt was
some amazing stuff. Prior to the White Man, prairie grass roots grew as deep
four feet, and sometimes eleven, so that no matter how much or how often
the grass was burned off, it bounced right back.

/
 
Last edited:

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 7:1-9

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


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.

The antediluvians weren't left on their own to figure out what's righteous
and what's not righteous. 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 preaching and changed
their ways; the Flood wouldn't have been necessary to begin with.

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 designated for ceremonial purposes
rather than for diet since God had not yet given man the green light to eat
meat.

In some cases a creature's intrinsic nature seems a factor. For example
vultures and bats are obvious choices for the unclean category. But how is a
cow any more sanitary than a bunny? Or a locust any more sanitary than a
swan?

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, 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 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. (cf. John 8:29)

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

Years of life in Noah's day were expressed in what's known as prophetic
years; which consist of twelve equal months of thirty days each. So in
astronomical time; Noah was but 591.8 years old.

Noah died at 950. So the Flood came at roughly 63% of the way through his
life. According to the US Department of Health, an average American born in
2013 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.
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 is 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.


Again it's mentioned that the animals came to Noah rather than he and his
sons going on safari to get them.

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 Jesus they didn't really take Noah
seriously but went about the business of their daily lives as usual. (Matt
24:38-39)

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 7:10-16a

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

Back in verse 4, God gave Noah seven days to get moved into the ark. The
water came right on time, just exactly when God said it would. 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 and walked around town heralding in the streets 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; but 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 . . on this day, all the springs of the great deep were
split, and the windows of the heavens opened up.

The word for "deep" is from tehowm (teh-home') which indicates an abyss
(as a surging mass of water) especially the deep (the main sea or the
subterranean water-supply). Tehowm occurred very early on in the Bible's
texts at Gen 1:1-2.

The difference is that this deep is the great deep. The word for "great" is
from rab (rab) which 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 human imagination.

The atmosphere alone holds about 2,900 cubic miles of water at any given
time; with the balance of Earth's 340 million cubic miles of water stored in
oceans, rivers, lakes, ice caps, glaciers, permafrost, and the ground.
Relatively little ground water is stored in subterranean voids. Most of it is
soaked in tiny pores and cracks in soil and rocks. Almost all ground water
resides within five to ten miles of the surface. Water below that depth is
chemically bound in the rocks and minerals and not readily accessible; but
can be released as a result of geologic processes such as volcanism. But for
the Flood, water above and beyond the earth's indigenous sources was
necessary.

There's an abundance of water out in the cosmos. 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 of water to inundate the
earth to the depth required by 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.

That's 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.

/
 
Last edited:

Jay Ross

Well-Known Member
Jun 20, 2011
6,760
2,523
113
QLD
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
-
Genesis 7:10-16a

<snip>


Gen 7:11b . . on this day, all the springs of the great deep were
split, and the windows of the heavens opened up.

The word for "deep" is from tehowm (teh-home') which indicates an abyss
(as a surging mass of water) especially the deep (the main sea or the
subterranean water-supply). Tehowm occurred very early on in the Bible's
texts at Gen 1:1-2.

The difference is that this deep is the great deep. The word for "great" is
from rab (rab) which 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 human imagination.

<snip>

/

Both the Hebrew word in Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 7:11 have embedded within them the Hebrew Root, H:8415 tehowm, but the two words are very different. The deep in Genesis 1:2 is hidden by darkness/evil whereas in the Genesis 7:11 case the deep is a store house for water, a very different thing.

When we only consider the Root word embedded within a word, the meaning can be lost.
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 7:16b-24
Continuing from post #93

Gen 7:16b . . And the Lord shut him in.

The Lord not only shut him in, but sealed him in too. The hatch to hull
mating surfaces had to be waterproofed with bitumen the same as all the
rest of the hull.

The Hebrew word for "shut" actually means to shut up; like as when a corral
gate is closed to pen livestock and/or the door of a jail cell is locked to
confine a convict. In other words, Noah was locked inside the ark by a door
that could be opened only from the outside. That's interesting. It means that
once the ark's door was sealed, Noah became a prisoner; and were he, or
anybody else inside, to change their mind about going, it was too late.

From that point on, Noah had no more control over his safety. From thence,
it was up to the ark, and up to God, to protect him from the Flood.

Gen 7:17-18 . .The Flood continued forty days on the earth, and the
waters increased and lifted the ark so that it rose above the earth.
The waters swelled and increased greatly upon the earth, and the
ark drifted upon the waters.


That was no week-end sailing trip. The ark drifted; viz: it was completely at
the mercy and the whims of the elements. It had no means for steering, no
navigational equipment, and no means of propulsion; it floated about like
flotsam.

Gen 7:19-20 . .When the waters had swelled much more upon the
earth, all the highest mountains everywhere under the sky were
covered. Fifteen cubits higher did the waters swell, as the mountains
were covered.


Q: Is it possible that the Flood was local rather than global?

A: Well; the problem with that theory is: the waters breeched the highest
mountains by fifteen cubits (22½ feet). So then, if perchance Noah lived in a
geographic basin, the waters would have overflowed the mountains
surrounding him and kept on going.

But the water would start spilling past Noah's area long before it breeched
the tops of the highest mountains surrounding him because mountain ranges
aren't shaped smooth, level, and even like the rim of a domestic bath tub.
No; they're very irregular and consist of high points and low points; viz:
peaks, valleys, canyons, saddles, and passes.

Thus mountain ranges make poor bath tubs because you would lose water
through the low points before it even had a chance to fill to the peaks. In
point of fact, were the sides of your bathtub shaped like a mountain range;
you could never fill it. And in trying to; just end up with water all over the
floor.

22½ feet may not seem like a lot of water but when you consider the
diameter of the Earth, that is an enormous amount when it's above the
highest mountains. How high were the highest mountains in Noah's day?
Nobody really knows. But just supposing the tallest at that time was about
equal to California's Mount Laguna east of San Diego; viz: 5,738 feet above
sea level-- about 1.1 miles. Adding 22½ feet to that comes out to
approximately 5,761 feet.

The amount of rain it would take to accumulate that much water in only
forty days would be something like six global feet of depth per hour.

To put that in perspective: the lobby of the Empire State Building in New
York city is approximately 47 feet above sea level. At 6 feet per hour, the
lobby would be under water in less than eight hours. The whole building,
lightening rod and all; would be under water in just a little over ten days.
The new One World Trade Center would be gone in about thirteen.

Gen 7:21-23a . . And all flesh that stirred on earth perished-- birds,
cattle, beasts, and all the things that swarmed upon the earth, and
all mankind. All in whose nostrils was the merest breath of life, all
that was on dry land, died.

. . . All existence on earth was blotted out-- man, cattle, creeping
things, and birds of the sky; they were blotted out from the earth.
Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.


All "existence on earth" was limited to fauna life on land. Apparently flora life
and aqua life were spared.

Gen 7:24 . . And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred
and fifty days.


One of Webster's definitions of "prevail" is: to triumph. In other words; the
Flood won and humanity lost. Man can dam rivers; he can divert streams, he
can build sea walls, dikes, and channels, he can drain swamps and wetlands;
but every one of those kinds of hydraulic engineering feats would have failed
to control the Flood.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 8:1-4

Gen 8:1a . . God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the
cattle that were with him in the ark,


Does that mean God forgot all about the ark's passengers until He realized
why there was a string tied around His finger? (chuckle) No; it reaffirms that
they were always on God's mind. He isn't forgetful. God doesn't need
reminding.

But what about Noah's sisters and brothers, and/or his aunts and uncles?
Did God think of them too? No. Noah's kin, except those aboard the ark;
were all wiped out in the Flood. He and Mrs. Noah may have had other
children too; and grand children. If so, then those also perished: and their
family pets too right along with them.

Out ahead, at the final judgment, many of us are going to have to watch as
our own kin are condemned to eternal suffering; and thrown alive, wild
eyed, shrieking, yelping, bellowing, and bawling like little children into the
impoundment of brimstone depicted at Rev 20:11-15 and Rev 21:8. We
might even be called up as witnesses to testify in the prosecution's case
against them. That will be an awful ordeal.

Gen 8:1b-3a . . and God caused a wind to blow across the earth,
and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the
floodgates of the sky were stopped up, and the rain from the sky
was held back; the waters then receded steadily from the earth.


The Old Testament Hebrew word that the editors of the NIV translated
"receded" is shuwb (shoob) an ambiguous word that can mean draw back,
return to the beginning, or simply diminish. The very same word is used in
the NIV's translation of Gen 3:19 thusly:

"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the
ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will
return."

In that example; shuwb indicates that Adam went right back where he came
from; viz: the dust.

According to Gen 7:11 the waters of the Flood came from the springs of the
great deep and from heaven. So then, I take shuwb to mean that the waters
went right back to heaven and the great deep as the Flood dried up so that
the waters didn't drain off, they were pulled off; which is a good thing
because had the waters drained off, they would have caused quite a bit of
erosion; but actually, there was nowhere for them to drain; they had to be
removed.

Gen 8:1-3 strongly suggests that the Flood's waters were removed by the
process of evaporation. But there's just no way that much water got
absorbed by the earth's atmosphere or it would still be here. No, I'm
convinced those waters were pulled back out into space from whence they
came in the first place. How were they pulled back out in space? Well; if I
could explain how God got the Flood's waters off the planet with wind
power; then I would be able to explain how Jesus levitated off the ground in
Acts 1:9. People think walking on water is amazing? Try walking on air.

Gen 8:3b-4 . . At the end of one hundred and fifty days the waters
diminished, so that in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of
the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.


The Hebrew word for "Ararat" is from 'Ararat (ar-aw-rat') which appears
three more times in the Bible: one at 2Kgs 19:36-37, one at Isa 37:36-38,
and one at Jer 51:27. Ararat is always the country of Armenia: never a
specific mountain by the same name.

The Hebrew word for "mountains" in Gen 8:4 is haareey which is the plural
of har (har). It doesn't always mean a prominent land mass like Everest or
McKinley; especially when it's plural. Har can also mean a range of hills or
highlands; like the region of Israel where Miriam's cousin Elizabeth lived.

"At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of
Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth." (Luke
1:39-40)

In California, where I lived as a kid, the local elevation 35 miles east of San
Diego, in the town of Alpine, was about 2,000 feet above sea level. There
were plenty of meadows with pasture and good soil. In fact much of it was
very good ranchland and quite a few people in that area raised horses and
cows. We ourselves kept about five hundred chickens, and a few goats and
calves. We lived in the mountains of San Diego; but we didn't live up on top
of one of its mountains like Viejas, Lyon's, or Cuyamaca.

The ark contained the only surviving souls of man and animal on the entire
planet. Does it really make good sense to strand them up on a mountain
peak where they might risk death and injury descending it?

When my wife and I visited the San Diego zoo together back in the early
1980's, we noticed that the Giraffes' area had no fence around it. The tour
guide told us the Giraffes' enclosure doesn't need a fence because their area
is up on a plateau 3 feet high. The Giraffes don't try to escape because
they're afraid of heights. There's just no way Giraffes could've climbed down
off of Turkey's Mount Ararat. It's way too steep and rugged. Those poor
timid creatures would've been stranded up there and died; and so would
hippos, elephants, and flightless birds like penguins.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 8:5-9

Gen 8:5 . .The waters went on diminishing until the tenth month; in
the tenth month, on the first of the month, the tops of the mountains
became visible.


Gravity assists rain to fall. But to get the Flood's waters off the planet
required overcoming gravity enough to get it up off the planet. The
mechanical nature of that wind would be an interesting study. Was it a
global hurricane, or was it more like a global tornado, or a combination of
both: one for evaporation, and one for sucking it all out into the void? Well,
whatever; it must have howled and roared like the sound of a thousand
World Trade Centers collapsing at once.

Gen 8:6-7a . . At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of
the ark that he had made and sent out the raven;


Although the Raven is listed in Israel's covenanted law as an unclean bird,
sometimes it's an excellent choice for assisting in a divine task; for example
1Kgs 17:1-6.

The word for "Raven" is 'oreb (o-rabe') which is not a specific species of bird,
but a whole family of birds now classified as Corvids; which includes Crows,
Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Nutcrackers, and Rooks.

Ravens are classified in ornithology as song birds; although Crows don't
seem to carry much of a tune. They're intelligent, sociable, and highly
adaptable. Although they don't usually trust Man, they have been known to
associate with him in remarkable ways.

One morning I was out in front weeding the yard when some crows down
the street were raising a serious ruckus and dive-bombing back and forth
across the street. One of them flew to where I was weeding and landed on a
streetlight above me and cawed its fool head off; the meanwhile fluttering
its wings and leaning forward and rocking as it cawed. Then it flew back and
rejoined the others. Then another one, a really big barrel-chested crow,
came and landed on our roof. It too cawed like mad (only louder).

Then it occurred to me they might be trying to get my attention. So I walked
down to where the others were, and there in a driveway was a fledgling
Crow who couldn't fly well enough to get back up in the trees from whence it
fell; and a big cat was harassing it. So I brought the young Crow home and
put it up on a limb in our backyard and pretty soon the others heard its cries
and came to take care of it. We had to assist the fledgling back up to his
limb a few more times after it soared down to the food and water we put out
for its friends; but eventually its wings became strong enough to do it alone.


BTW: That event took place quite a few years ago and as time went by,
young crows began little by little making our backyard their playground and
today, it isn't unusual to see twenty or so of all ages walking around out
there like chickens in a barnyard helping themselves to the peanuts we put
out for squirrels, and pecking cracked corn and sunflower chips out of the
bird feeders.

Gen 8:7b . . it went to and fro until the waters had dried up from
the earth.


Ravens will eat just about anything, including carrion; and there was
probably plenty of that floating around out there. With all the dead stuff to
feast on, the raven could spend the whole day out on its own. However, no
tree tops were above the water yet and crows need to get off the ground at
night so it probably returned to the ark in the evening to roost. The very fact
of its return was evidence to Noah that the waters were still pretty deep out
there.

Gen 8:8-9 . .Then he sent out the dove to see whether the waters
had decreased from the surface of the ground. But the dove could
not find a resting place for its foot, and returned to him to the ark,
for there was water over all the earth. So putting out his hand, he
took it into the ark with him.


The word for "Dove" is from yownah (yo-naw') which is a general term for
either a Dove or a Pigeon. Pigeons are well known for their homing instincts.
So why didn't the Pigeon roost up on the roof of the ark instead of letting
Noah take it inside? Well . . a Pigeon's nature is different than a Raven's.
The big guys are somewhat independent, but Pigeons readily take to human
care. That's probably why they are so much more common in cities than
Crows; where people can feed them popcorn and bread crumbs.

Pigeons and Doves don't eat carrion; but prefer to forage on the ground for
seeds. But bare ground was inaccessible at this point in time. The yownah
no doubt became very hungry; and certainly knew Mr. Noah had plenty of
grain on board with him back at the ark. Pigeons also prefer a roof over their
heads; like docks and wharfs, and bridges and roadway overpasses. It
almost seems they were actually made to live in coops; and what better
coop than the ark?

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 8:10-12

Gen 8:10-11 . . He waited another seven days, and again sent out
the dove from the ark. The dove came back to him toward evening,
and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! Then Noah knew
that the waters had decreased on the earth.

The word for "plucked-off" is from taraph (taw-rawf') which means:
recently torn off; viz: fresh. A taraph leaf is alive; which of course the
skeptics are only too happy to point out is impossible seeing as how olive
trees cannot survive under water very long before they die. But wasn't the
Flood itself impossible? (sigh) Some people are just naturally miracle
challenged; what can I say?

Old-world olives prefer a Mediterranean climate, which is pretty good
empirical evidence that the ark did not come to rest on the top of Turkey's
Mt. Ararat; a snow-capped dormant volcano consisting of two peaks: Lesser
Ararat @ 12,782 feet, and Greater Ararat @ 16,854 feet.

Tall mountains like Ararat have what's called a timberline; which is an
elevation beyond which no trees grow. The elevation of Mt. Hood's
timberline here in Oregon is right around 6,000 feet. So it's a pretty good
bet that the olive tree, from which the dove plucked a leaf, wasn't growing
up on Mt. Ararat prior to the Flood. It would've preferred neither the
elevation nor the climate.

Gen 8:12 . . He waited still another seven days and sent the dove
forth; and it did not return to him any more.

Apparently the dove finally found some dry, bare ground to forage for seeds,
and minute gravel for its craw.

Why didn't Noah just look out the window and see for himself? Well; the
structural location of the ark's window is a bit a mystery. For one thing, it
wasn't cut into the sides like the windows in an airplane, rather, it was
located up on top.

The horizontal dimension of the window is unknown, but its vertical
dimension is known to be only a cubit; theoretically 18 inches.

Imagine a structure on top of the ark similar to the windowed portion of the
cab of a large pick-up truck; for example a Ford 350. If a structure like that
were situated in the middle of the top of the ark, whose top deck dimensions
were 450 feet by 75 feet, the angle of Noah's view would be pretty much
limited to the portion of sky that he could see above the horizon.

/
 
Last edited:

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 8:13-14

Gen 8:13-14 . . In the six hundred and first year, in the first
month, on the first of the month, the waters began to dry from the
earth; and when Noah removed the covering of the ark, he saw that
the surface of the ground was drying. And in the second month, on
the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.


Calculating the duration of the Flood is not only an interesting exercise but
also an opportunity to get the hang of prophetic time keeping.

It began to rain on the 17th day of the second month of the 600th year of
Noah's life. The Earth was dry on the 27th day of the second month of his
601st year. So, reckoning time according to prophetic months of 30 days
each, and not counting the final day, Noah's crew was aboard the ark for a
total of 370 days; which is roughly 5 days over a solar year, and 10 days
over a prophetic year.

Q: Where did I get a prophetic month?

A: The Flood began on the seventeenth day of the second month of Noah's
life, and it rained for forty days. Then the rain stopped so the water could
begin draining off and leave the ark aground. A period of exactly five months
went by. Those five months are recorded as exactly 150 days. If we were to
try and use the months of the Jewish calendar, the number of days would
not add up to 150. Here's why.

The months of the Jewish calendar supposedly equivalent to the months of
the Flood are:

lyar . . . . . . . . 29 days
Sivan . . . . . . . 30 days
Tammuz . . . . 29 days
Av . . . . . . . . . 30 days
Elul . . . . . . . . 29 days
Tishri . . . . . . . 30 days

Using the Jewish calendar, it would begin raining on the 17th of lyar, thus
flooding a total of 13 days during that month. Following would be 30 in
Sivan, 29 in Tammuz, 30 in Av, 29 in Elul, and lastly 16 in Tishri. We can't
count the 17th of Tishri because the ark would have gone aground on that
day. The total number of days from the beginning of the Flood until the day
the ark went aground, would have been, according to the Jewish calendar,
147; which is three days short of 150.

However, we can safely ignore the Jewish calendar, and just reckon the
elapsed time relative to Noah's birthday. The 150 days then average out to
five months of 30 days apiece. That doesn't really cause any problems
because a dating method of that nature is not intended to mark off the
actual passage of astronomical time in a calendar year; only the days of
time elapsed during an important event such as the Flood.

So; here in Genesis, very early in the Bible, a precedent is set for specifying
the length of a special kind of year: the prophetic year. Since the months in
a year of this type are of thirty days apiece, then twelve such months add up
to 360 days; which is 5¼ days less than a calendar year.

The prophetic year is sort of like a baker's dozen. Though a baker's dozen is
not a dozen of twelve; it is nonetheless a dozen in its own right. As long as
students of the Bible are aware of the existence of such a thing as a
prophetic year, they won't be tripped up when they run across it in
prophecy, such as Daniel's prediction regarding the time of Messiah's official
arrival on the world scene (a.k.a. Palm Sunday). Here's another, yet future.

"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared
of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days." (Rev 12:6)

"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly
into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." (Rev 12:14)

Those two passages speak of a 3½ year period of exactly 1,260 days. Well,
3½ solar years is 1,274+ days; which is almost 15 days too many. But if we
reckon those 3½ years as prophetic years of 360 days each, then it comes
out perfectly to 1,260 days.

/
 

Webers_Home

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2012
4,611
726
113
80
Oregon
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
-
Genesis 8:18-19

Gen 8:15-17 . . God spoke to Noah, saying: Come out of the ark,
together with your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives. Bring out
with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you : birds,
animals, and everything that creeps on earth; and let them swarm
on the earth and be fertile and increase on earth.

Gen 8:18-19 . . So Noah came out, together with his sons, his wife,
and his sons' wives. Every animal, every creeping thing, and every
bird, everything that stirs on earth came out of the ark by families.

The word for "families" is from mishpachah (mish-paw-khaw') and means: a
circle of relatives; figuratively, a class (of persons), a species (of animals) or
sort (of things); by extension: a tribe or people.

Verse 19 strongly suggests that already in Noah's day living things were
ranked by type because they came out of the ark according to their species.
How they were ranked is uncertain. It may have been according to
intelligence, and then again, maybe by usefulness to Man. Some might put
the primates first because they are so smart; but I would put a higher value
on beasts of burden, and any other creature that best serves Man's domestic
needs; I mean, chimps are cute but what were they really good for in Noah's
day?

It must have been a stirring sight. Everyone soaking up the sun, stretching
their legs, and feeling brisk and cheerful. Like astronauts back from a long,
tedious space mission; they were all so happy to be home at last.

No doubt the rats and mice probably were content to remain in the ark
where it was nice and cozy, and I bet they eventually moved in with the
Noahs after their new home was built.

Many of the smaller creatures, like non winged insects and moles and
centipedes, can't really travel very fast so it must have taken them a pretty
long time to multiply and spread out; unless they found a way to hitch a ride
aboard the larger animals.

The big guys would take a considerable amount of time to get back up to
numbers. The gestation period of a meadow mouse is about 21 days and
they can have anywhere from four to six babies at a time. At the extreme
are the African elephants. Their gestation is about 660 days. So they don't
multiply very fast. White rhinoceros take 480 days, cows 284, giraffes 457,
zebras 365, moose 240, hippos 238, gorillas 258, and camels 406. Most of
the domestic birds-- turkeys, pigeons, geese, ducks, and chickens --all
incubate within a month or less.

Critters with the longest gestations usually have the fewest number of
babies in a litter-- typically only one; and two at the most. Since many of
the clean type animals are of the larger species, and therefore would take
longer to multiply, it was wise to take along seven pairs of those.

So; how did all the various species end up in their respective environs-- e.g.
arctic, rain forests, deserts, and tropical islands? Nobody really knows, but
we can take an educated guess.

According to an article in the October 2011 issue of National Geographic,
around 56 million years ago, the Atlantic Ocean had not fully opened up and
it was possible for animals to migrate from Asia through Europe and across
Greenland to North America. They wouldn't have encountered a speck of ice
because the earth was quite a bit warmer than today.

We suggested previously that with the knowledge we have today of the
science of plate tectonics, it isn't unreasonable to assume that God simply
crunched all the dry land together in order to facilitate migrations to the ark,
and left the land that way until the Flood was over and it was time for the
animals to go back where they came from.

Sometimes when I contemplate the earth's crust consisting of solid stone
like granite, schist, and gneiss; its seems impossible to me that any force
could crunch it; but in the hands of the earth's creator, what's solid to me is
little more than modeling clay to its maker.

As the planet's topography underwent continual alteration by enormous
geological forces, resulting in a variety of global climatic conditions, many
species became isolated and underwent some interesting adaptations and
mutations in order to become the highly specialized creatures that we find
living around the world today.

Classical evolution per se, is, I believe, a spurious fantasy because it
discounts intelligent design and an outside source of all life. But Bible
students have to allow for a least a degree of genetic and somatic
adaptations and mutations or Genesis won't make any sense at all. It is just
too unreasonable to insist that the incredible variety of life existing in our
world today all existed during Noah's too.

After all, every known variety of Man existing today came from just eight
people. If those eight are responsible for producing all the different kinds of
human beings in our world today, then why couldn't the creatures aboard
the ark have been the foundation for all the varieties of non human life?

So; what happened to the ark? Well; according to the dimensions given at
Gen 6:15, the ark was shaped like what the beautiful minds call a right
rectangular prism; which is nothing in the world but the shape of a common
shoe box. So most of the lumber and logs used in its construction would've
been nice and straight; which is perfect for putting together houses, fences,
barns, corrals, stables, gates, hog troughs, mangers, and outhouses.

I think it's safe to assume that Noah and his kin gradually dismantled the
ark over time and used the wood for many other purposes, including fires.
Nobody cooked or heated their homes or their bath and laundry water using
refined fossil fuels and/or electricity and steam in those days, so everybody
needed to keep on hand a pretty fair-sized wood pile for their daily needs.

There was probably plenty of driftwood left behind by the Flood, but most of
that would be water-soaked at first. But according to Gen 6:14 the ark's
lumber was treated. So underneath the pitch it was still in pretty good shape
and should have been preserved for many years to come.

/