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In Genesis 7:6-17 - Where was the ark? (Part 1) — The Earth and the Springs, we saw that Noah did not board the ark for the last time until after the rains began and the springs of the great deep had burst forth.  In my mind this suggests that Noah actually saw the springs, and was able to get in the ark without being swept away by the water.  In fact, according to scripture, **everyone** had the time they needed to board (key portions highlighted)…

 ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. ¹² And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. 

 ¹³ On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. ¹⁴ They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. ¹⁵ Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. ¹⁶ The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

 ¹⁷ For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.

Did you catch the sequence? Springs burst, floodgates open, Noah/family boards, God shuts door, rains continue.

Now, we know from Genesis 5:28 that Noah was a comforter.  Therefore, he was most likely the last one to enter the ark.  Therefore, we can assume he was outside for at least a few minutes after the springs burst open and the floodgates of heaven were open.  It means that he was close enough to the ark to get on, but close enough to the springs to see them burst forth.  Where was he?  I believe scripture has another clue. Look again at verse 17, particularly the second half…

 ¹⁷ For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.

If we suppose this detail were passed down from Noah, then which waters was Noah referring to?  Well, it could have been just the rains or both the rains and the springs.  Well, it’s carefully enough worded that I believe the writer (in this case Moses) is attempting to account for them both.  However, all of the verses that specifically connect floodwaters to the 40 days and nights refer specifically to rain, but never specifically to the springs…

 ⁴ Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.

¹² And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

The verses having to do with springs never provide a duration…

  ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

 ² Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky.

But even if we don’t know how long that springs were open, 7:11 tells us they started around the time the rains did, possibly even before.  In addition, 8:2 tells us that the springs had been closed, but does not say when.  Why not?  Why is scripture so specific about when the springs burst, but not about when they were closed? In my opinion, it is because Noah saw the springs burst, but did not see them close.  It would seem that Genesis documents what Noah saw, and makes no guesses about events he did not see.

Now go back to verse 17.  What lifted the ark?  Well, the careful wording requires the ark be lifted by the rain at least, because as we saw above Noah knew the rain continued for forty days.  But the springs?  Well, the wording allows for the springs to contribute for however long they flowed, but does not specifically require them to contribute at all.  Therefore, we do not know for sure whether the springs contributed to lifting of the ark.  Sound crazy?  Well, I am going somewhere with this.  Please bear with me.

One last tidbit of logic.  If we assume the rains were torrential, then visibility within the rains was near zero.  It explains the hurry to get into the ark.  If we imagine for a moment that the ark door swung outwardly, then I don’t see how Noah could possibly pull the window closed in that storm.  That would certainly explain the need for God to close it.  But do you know what else it means?  It means that the springs burst before the rains began.  Why so?  Because rains that are hard enough to prevent Noah from shutting the ark himself could also be heavy enough to obscure his view of the springs bursting.  Now, the springs need only burst a few moments before, but it would explain why Noah would know there were springs, yet needed God to close the ark.  It explains the obscure wording and the odd combination of detail discussed above.

So to summarize, here is what I think we know:

1. The springs burst forth.
2. Noah saw them from nearby the ark.
3. Then the rains began, probably torrential rains.
4. Then Noah and his family got into the ark.
5. God closed the door, probably because Noah could not.
6. Based on what Noah knew, the rains certainly lifted the ark… the springs may not have.

Now, how can this tell us where Noah was?  Because Noah wasn’t washed away, and the ark did not rise until after the door was shut.  It means when the springs burst, Noah was not in their path.  But, he could see them burst, suggesting he was at least at the same elevation as the springs, but most likely higher.  That places the ark at a higher elevation than the springs as well, which means the springs did not contribute to the rising of the ark, or at least not at first.  However, Noah would not know for sure what they contributed the ark’s rising later on.  It would explain why Moses’ wording of the account does not mention them specifically in verse 17, but does not rule them out either.

But then we have a new mystery: Where was the ark?  Where did Noah build it?  I believe that scripture can answer that for us as well.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 8:39 pm and is filed under Bible Commentary, The Science, The Flood. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.