Answers for a study in the book of Genesis: Chapter Seven

1.  Review of Class Topic: With your table group, discuss today’s presentation by summarizing what you learned, commenting or asking any questions.

Answers will vary…

Read Genesis Chapter 7 with your group then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions:

2.  Noah had a “7-day notice” for when the flood would begin. Answer and discuss the following questions about the specifics of the flood (7:11-24):

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds.  So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed it behind him. Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.”  Genesis 7:11-24 (NASB)

a. How old was Noah when the flood came, and was there additional dating information as to when the flood started?

Noah was 600 years old when the Flood came; the Flood came seven days after Noah and his family entered the Ark, in the 600^th year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month.

b.  Where did the water come from, and why is this significant?

The water came from the bursting open of the fountains of the great deep and the opening of the floodgates of the sky. This is significant because apparently this was an unprecedented event. The language is such that the violence of this catastrophe would have been so great as to completely destroy the Earth and its inhabitants. It would also appear that this type of rain and upheaval of the earth, such as volcanic activity, had not occurred before.

c.  How long did the rain fall upon the Earth?

The rain fell for forty days and forty nights (but that was not the entire length of the Flood’s activity)

d.  Who closed the door of the Ark after they entered?

After Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives along with two of every “Kind” of living thing (with the exception of water dwellers) entered the Ark, “the LORD closed the door.”

e.  How high did the waters rise, and what was covered up, during the flood?

The waters rose above the earth so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered and the waters prevailed fifteen cubits higher. Note: the mountains and valleys were significant lower than we see them today due to the Floods later effects that cause mountain up-warping, and valleys to sink, including canyon carving.

f.  What perished during the flood?

All flesh perished (this includes all mankind) – anything with “the breath of the spirit of life” perished (not those who could survive in a flood or flood conditions that God wanted to preserve).

g.  How long did the waters prevail/increase on the Earth?

The waters prevailed upon the earth 150 days.

3.  Discuss: Based on what you have read so far, how violent do you think this flood was, and how might it have affected the Earth’s surface (topography and geography)? What is some observable evidence we can point to in our world today of this effect?

Based on the language: “the fountains of the great deep” and the “floodgates of the sky” burst open, along with the promise God makes in chapter nine to never flood the earth again, this had to be a catastrophic flood of such magnitude that the very crust of the earth could have been moved and reshaped. We see evidence of this in “plate tectonics” where the continents were once all together as one land mass. Secular science says it happened slowly over time; the Bible says it happened in this great flood. The lifting of what we see in mountain ranges today, and the depth of the valleys in the ocean floor along with layers of sediment containing fossils are give evidence of a massive worldwide flood.

Note: For a more in-depth study of this see the recommended resources in the notes from last week’s presentation on this topic for Going Deeper.