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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 7:17 - 7:24
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The Destruction Caused by the Flood
v. 17. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. It took forty days for the Flood to reach its crest, to come to full development. During this time the ark was lifted up from the dry land where it had been built; high above the earth the vessel of deliverance rode majestically forward.
v. 18. And the waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. Greater, farther, and wider the expanse of the waters grew, a limitless ocean where formerly only the dry land had been seen.
v. 19. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. The very repetition of similar expressions serves to impress upon the reader the immensity of that waste of waters which stretched out over the whole earth. Finally even the summits of the highest mountains sank beneath the flood of waters, and men and animals that may have sought safety in the mountains perished like the rest.
v. 20. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. To think of a partial flood, of a local deluge, with this plain account before us were madness; for if the Deluge, after reaching its crest, stood on the earth for more than one hundred days and the ark did not settle on Mount Ararat until the waters subsided, then it stands to reason that it must have been a great deal higher than 16,000 feet, the height of Mount Ararat, and the fact that water seeks its own level would alone demand our belief in the universality of the Flood. Besides, the expression is very general: The mountains were covered; wherever they were on the entire surface of the earth, they were hidden by this mass of waters sent as a punishment by God.
v. 21. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle and of beast and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man;
v. 22. all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. All animate beings on earth which breathe with lungs and have the ability to move about on the dry land: reptiles, birds, mammals, men, they all had to perish in the great Flood.
v. 23. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle and the creeping things and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth. As Jehovah had announced,
v. 4. so He carried His threat into execution: every being that has an independent existence and maintains its life by breathing with lungs was destroyed. And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
v. 24. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. In the midst of that fearful waste of waters, in which all living, animate beings of the earth found their grave, and which covered the earth for a full hundred and fifty days after reaching its highest level, only Noah and his family were saved, the water in their case serving as the means of lifting up their vessel and thus preserving their lives. The water of the Deluge, according to Scriptures, is a type of Baptism, 1Pe_3:20-21. The water of Baptism delivers us and saves us; it washes away the filth of our sins and presents us to God as His children through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Thus there is comfort for us even in this story of death and destruction.