The Flood Story (6:1–9:29)

Stories of a great flood or floods are found in many countries of the world. The Greeks, various ethnic groups in India, land peoples of the Pacific, the Indian tribes of North and South America, and many others, have traditions of a devastating flood which covered the whole earth, or at least the land in which the story was current. Certainly the most ancient account of such a deluge is the one found among the peoples of the Mesopotamian Valley. This particular account, which has come down to us in several versions, is the one to which the Hebrew story is related.

According to the classical Babylonian narrative, which is preserved in a form known as the Gilgamesh Epic, Utnapishtim, a citizen of Shuruppak, which lies along the Euphrates, is advised by Ea, the lord of wisdom, to escape the flood that is to destroy his city. He is to build a ship in which he, his household, his belongings, and the cattle of the field will be saved. In accordance with Ea's word, Utnapishtim builds a ship and is saved from the ravaging waters. Like Noah, he sends out several birds to find out how far the waters have receded. When the ship finally rests on. the summit of a mountain, Utnapishtim offers a sacrifice to the gods who gather around "like flies," and he and his wife are blessed with immortality. The resemblances between this story and the Genesis account of the Flood are too numerous to be accidental. The Hebrew writer must have been acquainted with the Flood story which was current in the Mesopotamian Valley as far back as 3000 B.C. Yet there are significant differences which reveal the unique way in which the biblical writers used this ancient material. The deep theological colouring of the Genesis story with its emphasis on divine judgment and grace, and its monotheistic conception of God, shows how the inspired Hebrews redeemed the material they received from other nations and made it a fit vehicle for the revelation of the true and living God.

In the biblical account itself there are differences in style and discrepancies in details which point to the composite nature of the narrative. For example, in 7:2, Noah is commanded to take “seven pairs of all clean animals ... and a pair of the animals that are not clean" into the ark, whereas according to 6:19, "two of every sort" are to be taken into the ark. Then, too, in 7:12 and 8:2b the rains from heaven are the sole origin of the flood waters, whereas according to 7: 11 and 8:2a, there is also a terrestrial disturbance which causes the fountains of the deep to burst forth. On the basis of these apparent discrepancies and certain characteristic phrases and points of view, it has become apparent that the Genesis account of the Flood is composed of two distinct literary traditions, designated by the letters J and P, which have been skillfully woven together to form the present biblical story.

Some of the following is not included in Sunday’s readings, but is included for sake of completeness

The Semi-divine Beings and the Daughters of Men (6:1-4) [J]

This difficult and fragmentary passage, the original purpose of which was to explain the existence of a gigantic race of semi-divine beings, is used here by the writer to explain the increase of violence and corruption on the earth in the days before the Flood. Although it is not directly related to the Flood story, it serves as an excellent preface to verses 5-8, which tell of Yahweh's intention to destroy man from the face of the earth because of man's sinful nature. The basic narrative simply states that in the early days of the human race, the "sons of God," or semi-divine creatures, married the daughters of men, and that from this illicit union there sprang a giant race called the Nephilim (see also Num. 13:33), who are identified with "the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown" (6:4). This story may lie behind the weird description of the "fallen mighty men of old" in Ezekiel 32:27, and it certainly is the source of the tradition of fallen angels who were punished by God when they "left their proper dwelling" (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4), although there is no reference to any punishment of the "sons of God” in the Genesis account. The writer (J) uses this ancient story not only to explain the increasing lawlessness and violence of mankind which lead to divine judgment upon the world by the Flood, but he is also probably indicating by the illicit marriage of supernatural creatures with human beings that evil is cosmic in nature, and therefore far more sinister than any mere defect in human nature. The difficult third verse of this passage has been translated in many ways, mainly because the meaning of the Hebrew verb, rendered "shall abide," is uncertain. The general meaning of the verse is clear, however. Divine judgment falls, yet God in his mercy did not destroy man at once, but allowed him a life span of one hundred and twenty years.

Corruption and Violence (6:5-8) [J], (6:9-12) [P]

The general account of the cosmic nature of sin found in 6:1-4 is followed by a more detailed description of the way sin has corrupted the nature of man and led to his alienation from God. "'Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (6:5) is the gloomy verdict regarding man's spiritual condition. The eyes of God penetrate more deeply into the soul of man than any X ray. Man's heart, which in Hebrew psychology stands for the mind as well as the will, is completely corrupt in the sight of God. “And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart" (6:6). The ascription to the Deity of sorrow and remorse is in keeping with other passages of Scripture (for example, Hosea 11: 8). God is so grieved at man's sinful condition that he resolves to wipe the human race from the face of the earth. As all forms of life were created for the benefit of man, according to the creation story, so in the Flood narrative all life, including "beast and creeping things and birds of the air" (6:7), must suffer in the divine judgment upon man.

"But Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD" (6:8). Once again a ray of light penetrates the deep gloom of the preceding verses. In 3:20, immediately after the divine sentence of death upon man, Adam's faith in the ultimate victory of life is shown by his naming his wife Eve, "because she was the mother of all living." And then, immediately after Lamech's boastful hymn of murder and hate, the writer introduces Seth and Enosh as the ones who were the first to worship the true and living God under the name of Yahweh (4:26). Now again, after God decides to destroy the human race because it is so thoroughly wicked and corrupt, we read about one who is "a righteous man, blameless in his generation," who "walked with God" (6:9; see 5:22, 24). God's judgment is tempered by Noah's noble character. Again the mystery of divine grace! One belonging to the human order which is condemned to utter destruction is chosen by God to perpetuate that order. Judgment will come; punishment will be meted out; but the human race is not utterly destroyed (see also Hosea 11:9). "Violence" and "corruption," which are the marks of the days of Noah (6:11-12; see also Matt. 24:37), must be wiped out, yet in the midst of death the way to life is open.

The Flood (6:13-8:14) [J, P]

As has already been noted, the story of the Flood in Genesis stands in close literary relation to older flood stories from the Mesopotamian Valley. Although archaeology has brought to light accounts of a deluge in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, no clear-cut evidence of Noah's flood has as yet been unearthed in Mesopotamia, in spite of fantastic claims to the contrary. It would seem then that the biblical account of the Flood, as well as the accounts of a flood found in Mesopotamia and other regions of the world, points to a catastrophe which took place as far back as the Stone Age. But whatever the historical antecedents of the biblical Flood story may have been, the abiding significance of the Genesis account lies in its deeply religious outlook and theological insights.

Even though the end of all flesh has come, God speaks with Noah, who is flesh (6:13). The purpose of God's conversation with Noah was to give him instructions concerning the building of the ark (6:14-16). It was to be constructed of gopher wood, evidently some kind of resinous material suitable for building ships, coated on the inside and outside with pitch, or more accurately bitumen, which was also used to calk the ship in the Babylonian story. Reckoning 18 inches to a cubit, the ark measured 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high, about half as long and wide as the largest ocean liners today. According to the rather obscure terminology of verse 16, the ark was to be covered with a roof to protect it from the torrential rains, and have three decks with rooms or cabins for the occupants. After these instructions, there is the word of judgment upon all flesh (6:17), as well as the first mention of a covenant to be established between God and man (6:18; see 9:1-17 for a description of this covenant). All flesh is to be destroyed, according to God's word, yet "of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you" (6:19). Again the mystery of grace!

The writer apparently knows of no distinction between clean and unclean animals before the Mosaic regulations were instituted, and so two of all flesh go into the ark with Noah. According to Fs account, on the other hand, Noah takes with him seven pairs of clean and one pair of unclean animals (7:2). For J, the regulations concerning clean and unclean animals go back to the earliest times. Noah, who is wordless throughout the story, dutifully obeys God's command and enters the ark with his family – his wife, his three sons, and their wives, eight in all (see 1 Peter 3:20) – and the animals. "And the LORD shut him in" (7:16). The One who unleashes the raging waters gently closes the door of the ark to ensure the safety of those inside. By noting the exact dates of the Flood (7: 11; 8:13-14), and other statistical data, the writer (P) is emphasizing the historical character of God's revelation.

"But God remembered Noah and all the beasts" (8: 1). The sovereign Lord is mindful of his own. And he might well be in this instance, for the future of the human race and the divine plan of redemption ride with this frail bark. The waters subside and the ark rests on a mountaintop in Ararat (Urartu), known as Armenia today. The boisterous waves and wind had driven the ark to the mountainous region north of the Mesopotamian Valley. Noah sends forth the raven and the dove to determine how far the waters have receded. When the dove returns with an olive leaf, Noah knows that the waters of the Flood and the wrath of God have abated.

Noah's Sacrifice (8:15-19) [P], (8:20-22) [J]

God commands Noah to leave the ark and pronounces the creation blessing upon him (1:22, 28), since this marks a new beginning in the history of mankind. It is God who overarches the whole story of the Flood, giving the instruction to Noah, caring for him during the dangerous journey of the ark, and bringing him forth from the ark after his trying ordeal. In gratitude to the Lord for delivering him from the waters of death, Noah builds an altar as soon as he leaves the ark and offers burnt offerings unto the Lord (8:20). According to the Mosaic regulations these were sacrifices in which the whole of the victim was consumed upon the altar. That such offerings are thus represented as sacrificed long before they were instituted under Mosaic law is of no concern to J, who has little interest in the technicalities of religious observances.

The Lord, who is pleased with this spontaneous expression of Noah's gratitude, promises never to curse the ground again as he had done before (3:17; 4:12), or to destroy mankind in a worldwide catastrophe, even though man's innate depravity would continue to provoke and justify God's wrath (8:21). The sin of man, which no waters can wash away, is a challenge to God's mercy. God meets this challenge by assuring Noah that his daily needs will be met by the unbroken succession of "seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night" (8:22).