This is the second part to a three-part series of articles on the Deluge of Noah’s days. In the first part, we saw firstly the importance (many times ignored) of the Deluge and the Ark. We saw some characteristics related to the Deluge, and today we continue with that according to Genesis.
Characteristics of the Deluge
And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep (Gen. 7:19-20).
The Deluge was not a local flood, but rather one that swallowed the entire earth. Once “all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered”, from what we can read, it would be a textual transgression to impose upon it an interpretation that contradicts these characteristics. In fact, based on the repetition of key details, the textual genre of Genesis, the context of the entire account (the Ark, the scope of the Deluge/Flood and how the New Testament authors referred to the event), any other interpretation would be to earnestly question the perspicuity of Scripture.
However, some Christian authors attempt to deduce that the Flood account was an exaggeration, and that it was only an isolated flood that affected the valley of Mesopotamia. We have it quite clear that the biblical text does not permit such suspicions. Consider some of the characteristics of this Deluge in order to see whether the context, purpose and the text itself, allows us to doubt its universality.
The Purpose of the Deluge
So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth (Gen. 6:7, 13).
The purpose of the Deluge was to destroy all earthly life, the birds of the air, and also the earth itself. Even if there didn’t exist animals and birds outside of that small valley of Mesopotamia (and I don’t pretend to believe that some even consider that a reality), the animals and birds could very well have left the valley in that case when the “flood” occurred. Only a global/universal Deluge could accomplish this end (Gen. 6:7, 13).
The Purpose of the Ark
Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth (Gen. 7:1-3).
The purpose of the Ark, first before anything else, was to protect the promise of God found in Genesis 3:15 concerning the coming seed of Eve (which, observing the genealogies, obviously passes through Noah), and to also preserve biological life (lit. seed) of the birds and animals. If this were a local flood, why didn’t God tell Noah to just move out of the valley, as He did with so many others in the Old and New Testament when God judged nations? The Ark has no other purpose, according to the text (Gen. 7:3), outside of that of a global/universal Deluge.
Characteristics of the Ark
Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits (Gen. 6:14-15).
Although it is difficult to know precisely the length of a cubit in Noah’s day, it isn’t either a great mystery.[1] To imagine the size, we could make a few comparisons in order to make it understandable for our context. The Ark had the capacity of 522 railroad cars and the length of one and a half (American) football fields. This description challenges the childlike illustrations that we have etched in our minds, and it presents to us a proof of the historicity of the event not only in terms of its vast size, but also how its specifications concur with the necessary dimensions to support the raging waves, and other challenges, of the sea.
Zoological Characteristics
Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate (Gen. 7:2).
Even with the consideration of the Ark’s grandeur, and its dimensions to withstand the conditions of the sea, there persists the doubt as to whether it was sufficiently big for all the animals. We think to ourselves: At least two of every species[3] in the Ark. How many animals would that be in total?
As of right now, approximately 2.2 millions of animal species are registered on our planet, with an estimate of a total of approximately 9 million. That would be a minimum of 18 million animals on a single vessel, and all of that under the care of 8 individuals (Noah and his family). This presents to us a problem because of its irreconcilability.[4] However, if we read this description through a historical, linguistic, and zoological magnifying glass, we would find an invaluable help.
Firstly, within these 9 million species there is included two significant categories: invertebrates and marine life, both of which had no need to be in the Ark. From what we can see in the text of Genesis 7, the animals of the Ark did not include the insects (invertebrates) because they did not have the “breath of life”, given that they do not breathe as animals do; insects do not require an Ark given their size and the fact that they could survive on whatever was floating; in fact, geological catastrophes tend to leave much debris on the surface of the waters. And for obvious reasons, marine life did not need an Ark in order to survive.
Without taking into consideration the insects and marine life, we are left with a bit more than 30,000 species of reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals on the planet. That would still be a minimum of 60,000 animals on the Ark! However, we need to take into consideration that Genesis was not written in any of the current languages today but rather in ancient Hebrew. And, of course, the ancient text did not immediately jump from Hebrew to our modern tongue in translation.
The Hebrew word used is not “species” (though Spanish Bibles have this term incorrectly translated due to the influence of St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate) but rather “kind” (Heb. Min). The word min is best translated at the Family level in present taxonomy, and that meant that there was only need of housing 7,000 animals within the Ark. The representative “kinds” that descended from the Ark reproduced over the face of the earth and thus produced distinct species within their family/kind. This process does reveal a loss of genetic variability, in contrast to the increase of genetic variability as argued by Darwin’s faulty theory over the course of millions of years.
(For more information, read the following article written by Nathaniel Jeanson, PhD in Celular Biology and Development, Harvard: https://answersingenesis.org/creation-science/baraminology/which-animals-were-on-the-ark-with-noah/)
[1] Bodie Hodge, “How Long Was the Original Cubit?”, AnswersinGenesis. Accessed February 2, 2022, https://answersingenesis.org/noahs-ark/how-long-was-the-original-cubit/
[2] Of course, 7 singular or 7 pairs of the clean animals and birds that would be used later for sacrifice (Genesis 7:2-3; 8:20).
[3] Ibid.
[4] Of course God is almighty and can sustain millions of animals on the Ark if He so willed it, but that is not what the text says in the book of Genesis.