Walk in the Bible - Genesis 7

Walk in the Bible - Genesis, Chapter 7

     In Verse 1 we see a  change right away, GOD's name is different. In the original Hebrew, prior to this portion of Genesis (since the start of Verse 7) GOD had been referred to as "Elohim", which DOEs mean "Lord" but it also means "Judge".  At this point his name changes to the proper name of GOD, "Yahweh".  Also notice that now, instead of Noah and his immediate family being saved, GOD is telling Noah that his whole household (immediate family and servants) would be saved because he was found to be righteous in GOD's eyes. This is because the sins of the father , at that point, were passed down to the children.   

     Ezekiel  (Ezekiel 18:2 ) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:29) both refer to this.  Now because it's true that the children would carry the weight of sin passed down from their parents, the reverse would also be true, if the parents were righteous, then they too would be considered righteous.  This remained true as long as they were a minor. Interestingly enough, Jewish law itself references this, per Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar, also know as OrHaChaim, who was a Kabbalist and a Talmudist.  He , in turn , references both Kohelet Rabba 4,1 and Avot de Rabbi Nathan 36,1, both of which state that Jewish Minors had a share in the world to come but Gentile minors do not. This changed when Christ came and granted everyone a share, however! 

      Verse 2 is interesting because GOD asks Noah to bring 7 pairs of every clean animal aboard the ark. Now, at this time the Bible doesn't record GOD giving any rules about what animals are clean or not clean.  He would give such rules during the Exodus, to be sure, but not at this time.  So how was Moses supposed to know ?  

     Even the  scholars disagree on this . Some say that the clean animals were those he could  eat, some of them say that it was the animals that hadn't been offered for a sacrifice to pagan gods. In either case, one can only assume that Moses was somehow told what was clean and not clean, but this was not recorded.  It certainly wouldn't be the only time something was deliberately left out of the Bible. John 16:12 shows Jesus deliberately not revealing certain things to his disciples. The disciple John received a revelation that he was explicitly told not to write down in Revelation 10:4 as well, so it's not like there's no basis for this happening in the Bible.

      Also notice that Noah is being asked to bring seven pairs of animals, where before , in Genesis 7:20 , he was asked to bring only two. Most rabbinic scholar agree that this is so that Noah could offer some of the animals as a sacrifice to GOD once the waters receded. Interestingly enough, this might have been referenced in Numbers 23:4 when Bileam offered seven animals on seven altars to curse the Jewish people.  We know that Noah did use some of the animals from the ark as a sacrifice, because it's shown over in Genesis 8:20, it just doesn't tell us how many animals were sacrificed to HIM.

     In verse 3, GOD tells Noah to bring seven pairs of birds as well, but HE also  tells them that these are for keeping their population alive.  Also note that GOD first tells Noah to bring clean animals, then he talks about the unclean animals, and then the birds, indicating that the birds might have not been clean.  Rabbinic Scholar Siftei Chakamim says as much in his study of this particular verse as well. This also indicates that these birds were not to be offered as a sacrifice to GOD at all.

     

    In verse 4 GOD let's Noah know that in seven days he'll start the flood.  Some scholars, like Rashi, believe this was for the seven days of mourning of the death of Methuselah.  Remember, the name Methuselah meant "When he dies it will happen"!   Also of note, the forty days and nights of the flood itself.   The number 40 signified the full measure of judgement. It's also noted as the number of stripes (lashes) to be given when someone violated the law in Deuteronomy 25:3, it was also the number of years the nation of Israel were forced to wander in the desert as a punishment for giving a false report about a land they spied in. 

 

     Verse 5 shows Noah doing what GOD said, without question or hesitation. GOD said do it and he did. This shows us that he totally believed in GOD, that he had, as JESUS would put it, "faith like a child".  Verse 6 reminds us that GOD

did wait the 120 years that he said he would wait.  Noah was 500 years old when he head his children, and now he was 600 years old, so at least 100 years had passed.

     Verse 7 is interesting , a lot of scholars argue that GOD had to make Noah get into the ark,indicating that he really didn't have a lot of faith, however, this is  contradicted in the description of Noah and especially in Genesis 6:9.

Also of note, it shows Noah and his son's entering , then his wife and his son's wives entering. Pretty much all of the rabbinical scholars agree this was to keep the men and the women separate from each other during their time in the Ark. This is bolstered by the fact that when Noah finally exited, it said he exited with his sons first (Genesis 8:18).

     Verse 8 and 9 show two pairs of each animal coming to the ark on their own, Noah didn't have to get them or guide them in, GOD did that.  Now you might be wondering why this shows only two pairs of the clean animals when GOD requested 7 pairs of clean animals ?  GOD provided two pairs of animals , Noah had to provide the rest. Now it wasn't too big a list nor were the animals dangerous (that list is found in Deuteronomy 14:4-8), in fact, at least three of the animals were probably already on his land as they were traditional farm animals at that time! This is supported by Or HaChaim as well in his commentary of the Old Testament (Torah).

    In Verse 10, we see that GOD began to have the rain come down in seven days, just like he'd said he would in verse 4. In verse 11 it takes it a step further and explains that the fountains of the deep and the firmament of heaven broke apart. Remember, GOD separated the waters in Genesis 1:6 and now he's removing that separation.  This isn't just fancy language either, this is a description of groundwater flooding. It's a known fact that if the aquifer below is flooded and it can't drain the water fast enough, the groundwater really will rise to the surface. 

     This shows that , yet again, that GOD made everything, including the groundwater flooding that we're now seeing, as well as the science we have to prove that it really can happen!  Incidentally, some scholars believe that the rain started gently at first, to give the people one last change to repent, and then when they didn't, it began coming down in torrents. However, the Bible explicitly states that the floodgates of the sky broke open in Verse 8, then it continued for forty days. Also, in verse 13 it states that Noah, his sons, his wife and his son's wives (in that order) entered

the ark on the same day.  Further, Rashi quotes the Genesis Rabbah (a collection of homilies on Genesis ) and states that the men of that day had said that if they saw Noah entering the ark, they'd tear down the ark and kill him, according to 

the Rabbah, GOD let him enter the ark in their full view, showing that his power was greater.

     Verse 14 and 15 shows the animals, not only coming of their own accord, but coming in pairs, just as GOD had requested.   Verse 16 shows GOD shutting Noah in,  some of the commentaries paint a pretty grim picture of how this happened. Rashi, for instance says the ark was surrounded with Bears and Lions, who were later killed by the flood. Radak, on the other hand, states this is to say that GOD prevented any hole from opening in the Ark, and kept it safe from the rains and the flood waters., This is more consistent with scripture references of GOD closing up things, (1 Samuel 1:6 shows GOD closing  up the womb of Hanah,  Daniel 12:9 where GOD tells Daniel to go on his way and that the words spoken are closed up until the end of time.)

 

     In Verse 17 we see that the water was now high enough to lift the ark off the ground, but the ark wasn't moving yet. That doesn't happen until verse 18, where the Bible record that the waters swelled and increased, indicating that the waters were now creating a current that could and did move the Ark.  Further , the Bible notes that the ark drifted with  the current. Noah didn't build the ark with a rudder or a sail, he had absolutely no control over where that ark was going, only GOD did, and Noah trusted  him to guide the ark right where he wanted it to be.

     Verse 19 shows us that the waters not only got higher, but they became more turbulent, even to the point of uprooting trees. This is noted by Rabbi R’ Jacob ben Asher in his Torah commentary, Tur HaAroch. Verse 20 show that the water even swelled 15 cubits higher than the mountains (roughly 25 feet higher than any mountain around them). At this depth, no animal would have been safe , nor any human. GOD did just as he said, he destroyed all life except that that was in the ark.

     Verses 21-22 show that GOD wiped out all life on the world at that time.  HE wanted there to be no question about that at all, so it's spelled out in detail in verses 21-22. Verse 23 is even more dire, both Ramban (Rabbi Maimonides ) and Sforno both state that not only did everything drown, but that the water was so hot where they were , that it totally dissolved the bodies, making it as if they never walked on the earth. To be sure, that area is near two continental plates and volcanism would not be unknown in conditions like that!  Verse 24 literally ends of a cliff hanger, stating that "once the land flooded for 150 days...", literally making you read the next chapter to see how Noah and his family and the last remaining animals on earth ended out!

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     In summary, the world literally ended that day, except for Noah and his wife and his sons and their wives because Noah believed and didn't give in to  what must have been enormous peer pressure.  He , instead, walked with GOD,notice the phrase "Walk with GOD", not "Walked beside GOD" indicating he could do this on his own, but rather "walked WITH GOD", indicating that he needed GOD to walk that walk.  Even when he couldn't see the way, even when there was no visible path, even when he had no way to judge which way to go (no rudder, no sail), he still believed.  As we'll see in the next chapter, his faith really was rewarded!

     Are you feeling pressured to act in a certain way, a way that's obviously not GOD's way?  Take a lesson from Noah.  He didn't.  If you feel like you can't do that own your own, feel free to reach out. I'd love to talk to you !