hundred years old, complied with the Lord's command in every particular (v. 18 to vii. 9). The Flood: its Commencement, Progress, and Termination (vii. 10 to viii. 19). : At the appointed time all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows (orifices, floodgates) of heaven were opened, and the rain (violent rain, a different word from rain in Gen. ii. 5) was upon the earth forty days and forty nights, the subterranean reservoirs combining with the waters above the firmament to produce the terrible result. But Noah, his family, and all the selected living creatures were safe within the ark; for Noah did as God commanded him, and the Lord (Jehovah) shut him in lit. shut after him; LXX. w0ev auToû (vii. 10-16). The waters were increased greatly upon the earth, but the ark was borne up and went upon the face of the waters. Then the waters prevailed exceedingly (lit. got strong exceedingly, exceedingly, m'ōd, m'ōd), until all the mountains and the high mountains (not hills) under the whole heaven were covered.1 Fifteen cubits upward (nearly twenty-five feet) did the waters prevail upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days, and all flesh died that moved upon the earth, fowl, cattle, beasts, creeping things; and every man, all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, died (lit. the breath of the spirit of life, nishmăth, rūach, chayim 2). They were all 1 The same Hebrew word (har, mountain) is used in both verses. A different word (gīvāh) is used for "hill." (Cf. Job xv. 7 ; Isa. xxxi. 4 ; Ezek. xxxiv.-26.) 2 This is the only place where these three Hebrew words occur together, and the expression "nishmǎth" in this connection makes it important to examine the construction of the whole passage, especially as bearing on the statements already made on p. 46, as to nishmath never being used in reference to animals, only of man. The destruction destroyed (blotted out entirely) from the earth, and Noah only and they that were with him in the ark remained (vv. 17-24). At the appointed time God remembered Noah, the flood of waters decreased, and the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. The violent rain was restrained; for God made a wind to pass over the earth, and stopped the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven, and the waters returned from off the earth continually (lit. in going and returning). Noah opened the window (challōn, so called from being perforated) of the ark which he had made, and sent forth first a raven and then a dove; but the latter returned to the ark, to be sent forth at the expiration of other seven days, when she returned with an olive leaf in her mouth, by which Noah knew that the waters were abated. He then removed the covering of the ark, and, the earth being dry, at the command of God he and his family went forth from the ark, after being shut in three hundred and seventy-five days, bringing forth also all the living creatures contained therein, that they might increase greatly and multiply upon the earth (viii. 1–19). The Scripture account of the deluge is wonderfully confirmed by the "Deluge Tablets," which have recently been discovered among the ruins of Nineveh and Babylon. These are some four thousand years old; they comprise the Chaldæan account of the deluge, and were written soon after Noah's time. The following specimens of the trans " of of the animals is explicitly stated in v. 21. The "all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life" refers to the "every man v. 21, in fact, is explanatory thereof. Cf. Deut. xx. 16; Josh. x. 40, xi. II, where the expression "all that breathed" (kol neshāmāh), which occurs in all these passages, is explained to mean human beings exclusively by Josh. xi. 14 and 1 Kings xv. 29, where the same words, "kol neshāmāh," occur. See Parkhurst's "Lexicon "in loco. lation of the cuneiform writing are from Professor Haupt's version 1: 66 build the ship; save what thou canst Enter the door of the ship, of the germ of life. and bring into the midst of it thy corn, thy property, thy the heaven to rain destruction; enter into the midst of the ship and close thy door. . . Six days and nights the wind, the flood, and the storm go on overwhelming. The sea began to dry, and the wind and the flood ended. The mountain of Nizir stopped the ship. . I I sent forth a raven, it did not return. built an altar on the peak of the mountain." It is a matter yet undetermined whether the deluge was universal or partial. The fact that the "high hills" are really mountains, and that they were covered, would rather favour the opinion of the universality of the flood. At the same time, it is admitted that there are powerful arguments in favour of limitation, astronomical, geological, and zoological in character. It is an undoubted fact that everything there Iwas in the earth died. Noah's Sacrifice, God's Promise and Covenant Immediately on leaving the ark Noah built an altar to Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings thereon. The sacrifice was accepted, and the Lord said in His heart (lit. to His heart, = determined in Himself) that He would not again curse the ground for man's sake, nor smite any more every living thing; adding the promise, that while the earth 1 See "Fresh Lights from the Ancient Monuments." By Prof. Sayce. remaineth (lit. yet all the days of the earth) "seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." These had been interrupted by the flood, but through the Divine forbearance this shall not happen again (viii. 20-22). Noah then received the Divine blessing, accompanied by many important promises as to the subjugation of the animal kingdom, and the use of "every moving thing that liveth" for food, with the prohibition that the blood thereof should not be eaten. Nay more, there should be requisition for blood, both in regard to man and beasts (cf. Exod. xxi. 28), and the murderer should be put to death. The command is very clear and emphatic: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man" (ix. 1-6). In connection with all this, God was pleased to establish a covenant with Noah, and his seed after him, and every living creature of all flesh, with the promise that there should be no more a flood to destroy the earth. The bow in the cloud was to be the token of the covenant. Upon this God promised to look, that He might remember the everlasting covenant which He had made in regard to every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth (vv. 7–17). The following important PRACTICAL TEACHING is suggested by the various events connected with the history of Noah, the flood, and the building of the ark: 1. The utter depravity of man, and the terrible destruction by the flood (Gen. vi. 5, 6, 11-13, 17) of all flesh and of everything in the earth. 2. The forbearance of God as instanced in the respite of one hundred and twenty years, and the warnings given by the building of the ark and the exhortations of Noah, as "a preacher of righteousness" (Gen. vi. 3, 14, 16; 2 Pet. ii. 5). 3. The Divine sovereignty in the choice of Noah, and the preservation of him and his family, when all around perished in the flood (Gen. vi. 8, 18, vii. 23; 1 Pet. iii. 20). 4. The completeness of salvation in Christ, the true Ark, and the security of the righteous, as set forth in the Lord Himself shutting Noah in the ark (Gen. vii. 1, 16; viii. 18). 5. The sure fulfilment of the Divine promises, as set forth by the bow in the cloud as the covenant token (Gen. ix. 12, 13). It is a matter of solemn interest to note, that when our Lord, during the brief interval between His death and His resurrection, went in His spirit and "preached unto the spirits in prison," these very antediluvian sinners are specially referred to. (Cf. 1 Pet. iii. 18-20.1) man. Noah's Sons and their Genealogies (ix. 18 to x.). Noah's three sons were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and of them was the whole earth overspread. A sad incident is recorded in regard to Noah, who was now a husband"He planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine (yayin), and was drunken," unaware most probably of the intoxicating nature of the fermented liquor. In connection with this Ham and his son Canaan acted most improperly, 1 The "days of Noah" are particularly referred to by our Lord Himself as setting forth the state of the world immediately prior to His second advent. (Cf. Matt. xxiv. 37-41; Luke xvii. 26, 27.) If then it be possible to trace any similarity between the present period and these antediluvian times, that would be so much evidence in favour of the possible nearness of the advent. The chief causes of the antediluvian apostasy are summed up by Pember in chapter x. of his interesting book, "Earth's Earliest Ages." He therein traces out similar influences acting upon society in the present day, and enlarges considerably on the teaching and practice of the so called "spiritualism" now so prevalent. |