The names of God and the two flood stories

There are two narratives running through the early chapters of Genesis, one describing the relationship between mankind and the aspect of God documented as Elohim and and the other between mankind and the aspect of God YHWH. and mankind. The first creation story, for example, is an Elohim-narrative, while the second creation story is a YHWH-account. The Noah story is unique in that it is composed of a number of interlocking Elohim and YHWH passages. As in the creation stories, there are sometimes contradictions. An obvious example — a YHWH-passage describes the flood as lasting forty days while an adjoining Elohim-passage describes a 150-day flood.

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It is possible to prize apart these two accounts, and each to an extent can stand alone, although the story described is now very truncated. For example, the YHWH-passages do not provide instructions to Noah as to how to build an ark, and he, his family and the animals enter into a ready-made ark so to speak. The instructions are contained in a subsequent Elohim-passage.

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Given the unusual way this story is built up and the not infrequent contradictions, it is not surprising that non-Jewish scholars hypothesized that the Torah originated from different sources. As discussed in the chapter on “The names of God in the Bible,” it was Julius Welhausen, living in Germany in the 19th century, who brought together ideas in source criticism that had developed over the previous centuries. 

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He proposed that the Pentateuch was derived from four primary sources, a Jahwist source (J source) that used exclusively the name YHWH and which was considered to have been written in the southern Kingdom of Judah in about 950 BCE; an Elohist (E) source that used the name Elokim and was written in the 8th century BCE in the northern Kingdom of Israel; a Deuteronomist source (D source) written in about 500 BCE in Jerusalem during a period of religious reform; and the remainder of the Torah was from a Priestly source (P source) written in the 6th century BCE by Aaronic priests in exile in Babylon. Others have argued that the Priestly source was composed much earlier during the First Temple period. The God of the Priestly source reveals himself in stages, first as Elohim, then to Abraham as El Shaddai, and finally to Moses as YHWH. Each of these sources reflects a perspective germane to the writers of that era, and they were joined together by a Redactor to produce the Pentateuch we recognize today.

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The first creation story, which uses the name Elohim for the name of God, is considered to be derived from a Priestly source (P), while the second creation story, which uses predominantly the Tetragrammaton linked together with Elohim as YHWH Elohim is a Jahwist (J) source. The intertwined passages in the Noah story are from P and J sources.

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This website/book, as for the works of Cassuto and Sarma, considers the Torah to have been composed by single Divine author. It admits the importance of Elohim and YHWH-passages for a full understanding of the text. It does not gloss over contradictions. It may attempt on occasion to harmonize them, but also considers them as part of two allegorical narratives that are by their nature contradictory because of the different attributes of Elohin and JHWH.

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Consider, for example, God’s decision to bring about a flood. This is shown first as the composite story and then divided as two separated stories which I have labelled a Yahwist passage and Elohim-passage. These also happen to be a J-source and P-source in the Documentary Hypothesis:

 

5. And YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6. And YHWH regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7. And YHWH said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, to creeping things, and the birds of the air; for I regret having made them. 8. And Noah found grace in the eyes of YHWH. 9. These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with Elohim. 10. And Noah fathered three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11. And the earth had become corrupt before Elohim, and the earth was filled with corruption. 12. And Elohim looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. 13. And Elohim said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me; for the earth is filled with corruption through them; and, behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood ……..” (Genesis 6:5-13)

 

YHWH ACCOUNT OR PROPOSED “YAHWIST” SOURCE    

6:5. And YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6. And YHWH regretted   that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7. And YHWH said: “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, to creeping things, and the birds of the air; for I regret having made them.” 8. And Noah found grace in the eyes of YHWH. 7.1 Then YHWH said to Noah: Go into the ark you and all your household, for I have seen that you are  righteous before me in this generation. . . .

 

ELOHIM ACCOUNT OR PROPOSED “PRIESTLY” SOURCE

6:9. These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked (hithalech) with Elohim. 10. And Noah fathered three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11. And the earth had become corrupt before Elohim, and the earth was filled with corruption. 12. And Elohim looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. 13. And Elohim said to Noah: “The end of all flesh has come before me; for the earth is filled with corruption through them; and, behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. . .  

 

In the above YHWY-passage, God is cognizant of the ways of humanity, discerns their thoughts and recognizes the total corruption in the world. Noah, on the other hand, has developed a relationship with YHVH based on his spirituality and deeds, and his righteousness makes him worthy to be saved. 

One might even say that YHWH is an emotional God. He feels matters in His heart, such as the sinfulness of humanity. He is prepared to change His mind. At first glance, this seems an un-Godly-type of thing to do. One expects God to be decisive. Yet this is not the way of YHWH. YHWH also views Noah in an emotional type of way, almost as a buddy whom He favors. Nevertheless, viewing YHWH as being entirely subjective would be an incorrect way of reading the text. YHWH is very objective. It is just that He displays Himself in a subjective way.

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It has to be this way for a God of relationships. For if YHWH were unbending, there would be no point in attempting to draw close to Him.

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The true objectivity of YHWH can be readily appreciated by reading the adjacent YHWH and Elohim passages in the story together. Since they were written at one and the same time and not hundreds of years apart, one can legitimately do this. In fact, this is why these passages were written in this way together.  

 

According to Elohim, Noah was righteous, perfect and walked with God. Looking down on the world from the heavens above, Elohim knows that the world cannot endure like this. Noah is seen by Elohim not in terms of developing a relationship, but with respect to his suitability for repopulating the earth. Since the flood story is, in the main, a passage about Elohim’s judging of humanity, the Noah story is predominantly an Elohim-account.  

 

This second passage displays a contradiction in the number of animals YHWH and Elohim request Noah to bring into the ark:

6:18. “But with you will I establish my covenant; and you shall come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shall you bring into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20. Of birds after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every sort shall come to you, to keep them alive. 21. And take to you of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to you; and it shall be for food for you, and for them.” 22. Thus did Noah; according to all that Elohim commanded him, so did he. 7:1. Then YHWH said to Noah: “Come you and all your house into the ark; for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2. Of every clean beast you shall take to you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of beasts that are not clean one pair, the male and his female. 3. Of birds also of the air by seven pairs, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 4. For in another seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth”. 5. And Noah did according to all that YHWH had commanded him (Genesis 6:18-7:5).

In the Elohim-account, Noah is asked to bring two examples from all living things into the ark, and they come into the ark of their own accord. However. in the subsequent YHWH-account, he is requested to bring seven male and female pairs of each pure animal and bird and one pair of each

impure beast and bird. Noah has to locate them and bring them into the ark.

 

Biblical critics view the Redactor as having such reverence for his original sources that he considered the joining them together as being of even greater importance than eliminating the obvious contradictions:

 

ELOHIM ACCOUNT OR PROPOSED “PRIESTLY” SOURCE 

6;18. “But with you will I establish my covenant; and you shall come into the ark, you, and your   sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shall you bring into the ark, to keep  them alive with you; they shall be male and  female. 20. Of birds after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the  earth after its kind, two of every sort shall come to you, to keep them alive. 21. And take to you of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to you; and it shall be for food for you, and for them.” 22. Thus ddi Noah; according to all that Elohim commanded him, so did he.

 

YHWH ACCOUNT OR PROPOSED “YAHWIST” SOURCE

7:1. Then YHWH said to Noah: “Come you and all your house into the ark; for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2. Of every clean beast you shall take to you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of beasts that are not clean one pair, the male and his female. 3. Of birds also of the air by seven pairs, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 4. For in another seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 5. And Noah did according to all that YHWH had commanded him.

 

Nevertheless, there is an obvious reason for the contradictions. The YHWH and Elohim aspects of God have different agendas. With but one exception, all sacrifices in the Pentateuch are offered to YHWH. This makes considerable sense, since a sacrifice is a means of drawing close to an immanent Deity. The single exception is with respect to Jethro and his sacrifice highlights the rule.5 Hence, following his deliverance from the flood, Noah offers sacrifices to YHWH using all the pure animal and bird in his possession:6

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Then Noah built an altar to YHWH, and took of every pure animal and of every pure bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar” (Genesis 8:20).

 

With this understanding, it can be seen that there is no contradiction in the number of animals brought into the ark. Elohim is concerned about the general providence of the world and directs all animals of their own accord to come in pairs to the ark. Noah then enters them into the ark as instructed (Genesis 6:20). In addition, YHWH tells Noah that he himself collect and bring into the ark seven pairs of pure animals and birds. This makes sense, since there is no reason they should come of their own accord. In this way, God is also hinting that sacrifices are a desirable way for worshiping Him.

 

A third example. In general, the presumed redactor of the Biblical critics limited his “cut and paste” jobs to complete sentences, and it is unusual for the two names of God to be found within a single sentence. When it occurs, as in this sentence describing the entry into the ark, it is quite illuminating:

 

And those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as Elohim had commanded him; and YHWH closed him in.” (Genesis 7:16) 

 

The Documentary Hypothesis would regard this is an example of the redactor doing his best to maintain the flow of the narrative. However, there is an alternative explanation. This verse is a transitional one. The transcendent God Elohim has instructed Noah to bring all animals into the ark, but it is YHWH who will now care for Noah as the earth reverts to its primeval beginnings. Noah and his family are in a rudderless ark, without a crew other than family members, and are totally dependent on the protection of YHWH. It is appropriate, therefore, that YHWH, in an embracing manner, closes the ark upon them.

 

Nevertheless, there is a challenge to a unitary account and this is that the two flood stories seem to be of different durations — the flood of the YHWH-story lasted for 40 days whilst the flood of the Elohim-story lasted 150 days:

 

YHWH ACCOUNT OR PROPOSED “YAHWIST” SOURCE

(7:17). And the flood was on the earth forty days, and the waters increased and raised the ark and it was lifted above the earth; (22). All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life died, of everything that was on dry land, died. (23). And He wiped out   all existence that was on the face of the ground – from man to animals to creeping things and to the bird of the heavens; and they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah survived and those with him in the ark. (8:2). And the rain from heaven was restrained.

 

ELOHIM ACCOUNT OR PROPOSED “PRIESTLY” SOURCE

(7:18). The waters strengthened and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark drifted upon the surface of the waters. (19). And the waters strengthened very much upon the earth, all the high mountains which are under the entire heavens were covered. (20). Fifteen amos [a measure] above did the waters strengthen and the mountains were covered.  (21). And all flesh that moves upon the earth expired – among the birds, the animals, the beasts, and all the creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all mankind. (24). And the waters strengthened on the earth a hundred and fifty days. (8:1) Elohim remembered Noah and all the beasts and the animals that were with him in the ark, and Elohim caused a spirit to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. (2). The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed (3). And the waters diminished at the end of a hundred and fifty days. (4). And the ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. . . .

 

The Biblical timeline of the flood has puzzled Biblical exegetes throughout the ages. Discussions can be found in the Midrash and Talmud,2 and the topic is discussed extensively by Medieval biblical commentators such as Rashi and Nachmanides, albeit without consensus.3 However, an explanation that hangs well together is provided by the biblical scholar Cassuto.4 Cassuto integrates the 40 days of the YHWH-passage with the 150 days of the Elohim-passage and shows that when both are analyzed together, they fit neatly into the dating provided by the Torah of a flood lasting one solar year. In this calculation, Cassuto counts the 150 days once and the 40 days twice, as seems evident from Genesis 8:6. Because his explanation is quite detailed, it is discussed in the reference section.

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Note that YHWH-sentences usually avoid dates. Also, how eviscerated the dating system becomes when Elokim-verses stand alone. Only when they are together does it make any sense.

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Another strong argument against source critique ideas as it pertains to the Noah story is Mesopotamian mythology! The Noah story is based on a mythic story and much of its details are followed quite closely. However, once the story is split into J and P sources most of this semblance is lost. For example, both the Gilgamesh and Atrahasis myths mention the hero offering a sacrifice on his deliverance. However, this is not present in the P version.  

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In one of his popular books, the influential Bible critic Richard Friedman notes that the Torah contains a pleasing “balance between the personal and the transcendent quality of the Deity.” To Friedman this is coincidental and occurred with no intention on the part of the redactor.5 The reality is very different. This balance is a fundamental construct of the Torah.  

 

Number associations in the Noah story

The Noah story is prose and not history. It also contains many of the literary formats typical of biblical writing. 

 

One of these is number associations. This topic was introduced in relation to the creation story and it will be briefly reviewed here. 

 

In ancient Mesopotamia, a seximal system based on number 6 was frequently used to describe aspects of the physical world.1 We have vestiges of this today with our 60-minute hour (6 x 10), 24-hour day (6 x 4), and 360-degrees circle (6 x 60). These time periods are otherwise completely arbitrary. The physical world was created by Elohim, and it is not surprising, therefore, that God’s creative activity is described in the Torah within a seximal framework with six days of creation.

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In Mesopotamian literature, the number seven, one above six, was considered to be a number reflecting perfection. Consider the following passage from the Gilgamesh myth:

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For six days and [?] nights

The wind blew, flood and tempest overwhelmed the land;

When the seventh day arrived the tempest, flood and onslaught

Which had struggled like a woman in labour, blew themselves out (?). . . .

When the seventh day arrived,

I put out and released a dove.

The dove went; it came back,

For no perching place was visible to it, and it turned round.7

 

Since God is absolute perfection, the number seven is found throughout the Torah in sentences relating to both Elohim and YHWH, and this number often becomes a code for the involvement of God.  

In the beginning of the Book of Genesis, the number seven is associated mainly with Elohim and the seventh day of the week is sanctified by Elohim as the Sabbath day. It is in Elohim-sentences that Noah waits seven days before setting foot in the ark, and it is in an Elohim-section that the birds are sent in seven-day periods seeking land. These number associations within the story imply that God is involved in all that is transpiring.

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Important key words repeated seven times may also be found within paragraphs and this also signifies the involvement of God. For example, the most important word in the following paragraph regarding the rainbow is the word “covenant,” which occurs seven times:8

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And Elohim spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying: “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature that is with you, of the bird, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; nor shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; nor shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth.” And Elohim said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for everlasting generations. I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between Elohim and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” And Elohim said to Noah: “This is the sign of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” (Genesis 9:8-17)

 

The significance of this repetition of the word covenant may well be that the rainbow was always part of the natural world. However, now that it is a symbol of Elohim’s covenant it becomes elevated one step above the natural and serves a loftier purpose.

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The number forty is found a number of times in the Bible and is associated exclusively with YHWH. Moses was twice secluded with God for 40 days on Mount Sinai. The Children of Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. The number 40 is indicative of a very strong and tangible relationship between man and the Divine from a spiritual or physical perspective. Hence, YHWH shuts up Noah within the ark for 40 days.  A contrast may also be intended here between the supernatural aspects of the 40-day period of the flood involving YHWH and the natural aspects of the 150-day (6 x 25) period of flooding engineered by Elohim. These number associations are not incidental to the story but an integral aspect of the account.

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Another literary form used in the Noah story is a chiastic structure, i.e., sentences with mirror image symmetry. In the excerpts below it can be seen that the flood develops and recedes in relation to days 7, 40 and 150. Hence, as the flood develops:

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And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. (Genesis 7:10). . . .  And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights”(Genesis 7:17). . . .  And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days (Genesis 7:24).

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When the flood dissipates, the order of the days is reversed:

 

And the waters then receded from upon the earth, receding continuously; and the waters diminished after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated (Genesis 8:3). . . . And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made (Genesis 8:6. . . . And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark (Genesis 8:10). . . . And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which did not return back to him anymore. (Genesis 8:12)

 

This chiasmus indicates that just as Elokim orchestrated the beginning of the flood, so also He organized its resolution.

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An even more elaborate chiastic structure has been pointed out that encompasses much of the flood story as below.9 The center of the chiasmus (i.e., the tip of the horizontal pyramid) is the following summarizing verse:

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God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the animals that were with him in the ark (Genesis 8:1).

 

This chiasmus again shows God’s total involvement in every aspect of the flood from its beginning to its end:   

 

A1. Noah  (6:10)  [P]

B1.   Shem, Ham and Japheth (6:10)  [P]

C1.       Ark to be built (6:14-16)  [P]

D1.            Flood announced (6:17)  [P]

E1.               Covenant with Noah (6:18-20)  [P]

F1.                  Food in the ark (6:21)  [P]

G1.                   Command to enter ark (7:1-3)  [J]

H1.                       7 days waiting for the flood (7:4-5)  [J]

I1.                           7 days waiting for the flood (7-10)  [J]

J1.                                Entry to ark (7:11-15)  [J and P]

K1.                                   Yahweh shuts Noah in (7:16)   [J and P]

L1.                                        40 days flood (7:17a)   [J]

M1.                                           Waters increase (7:17b-18)  [J and P]

N1.                                                Mountains covered (7:19-20)   [P]

O1.                                                   150 days waters prevail (7:21-24) [P]

P1.                                                         GOD REMEMBERS NOAH (8:1)   [P]

O2.                                                    150 days waters abate (8:3)   [P]

N2.                                                 Mountain tops visible (8:4-5)

M2.                                              Waters abate (8:5)   [P]

L2.                                         40 days (end of) (8:6a)   [J]

K2.                                     Noah opens window of ark (8:6b)   [J]

J2.                                   Raven and dove leave ark (8:7-9)   [J]

I2.                                7 days waiting for waters to subside (8:10-11)   [J]

H2.                            7 days waiting for waters to subside (8:12-13)  [J and P]

G2.                        Command to leave ark (8:15-17)  [P]

F2.                      Food outside ark (9:1-4)   [P]

E2.                Covenant with all flesh (9:8-10)  [P]

D2.      No flood in the future (9:11-17)  [P]

C2.    Ark (9:18a)   [J]

B2.   Shem, Ham and Japheth (9:18b)   [J]

A2. Noah (9:19)   [J]

 

The role of the descendants of Shem in the moral development of civilization

A passage in the Noah story has puzzled exegetes throughout the centuries since it seems to imply that nothing changed after the flood, including man’s propensity to wickedness:  

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YHWH smelled the pleasing aroma and YHWH said in his heart: I will not again curse the ground (ha’adama) any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing, as I have done. Continuously, all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease (Genesis 8:21-22). 

 

However, says Noah in a prophetic vein after a nighttime episode that ends in his cursing his grandson Canaan:  

“Blessed is YHWH, the God of Shem. . . .”  (Genesis 9:26).

 

Noah, his son Shem, and Shem’s descendants will possess a unique perception of YHWH, the God of relationships. This idea will be promoted by Abraham and the other forefathers, and will eventually be revealed to Moses at the burning bush. 

 

The appearance of Shem and his descendants on the world stage is about to initiate a new stage in the moral development of mankind. This family line will be the antidote to the depravity of the generation of the flood. Immorality and unrighteousness will always exist in the world since “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:210), but there will now be a family destined to disseminate sparks of righteousness. 

 

The hallmark of Noah was righteousness in a generation totally devoid of righteousness. 

 

Then YHWH said to Noah: “Come to the ark, you and all your household, for it is you that I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1).

 

Within several generations, a descendant of Shem, Abraham, will receive a call from YHWH to leave his homeland and make his way to Israel to become the progenitor of a nation that will become a moral beacon to the rest of humanity.

 

The story of the flood is the prelude to the story of Abraham. 

 

References

1.   Lecture 3, More about the Divine Names in the Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch by Umberto Cassuto, p40, Shalem Press, Jerusalem and New York, 2006. Also, Sifre Numbers 143.

       In the Book of Exodus, following the delivery of the Israelites from Egypt, Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses and a priest of Midian, arrives at the Sinai encampment together with Moses’ wife and two children: 

 And Jethro said: “Blessed be YHWH, who has saved you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has saved the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that YHWH is greater than all gods; for in the thing where they dealt proudly, He was above them.” And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for Elohim; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before Elohim.” (Exodus 18:12)

      

It would seem that Jethro recognizes YHWH as the God of Israel who delivered them from Egypt. In the midrashic literature he is even considered to have converted to Judaism (Rashi to Exodus 18:1). However, the names of God used in this passage suggest something entirely different. Jethro cannot wrench himself away from his background and his position in Midian as priest. In his worship to God, Jethro’s thoughts are not to the national God of Israel, but to Elohim, the universal God of mankind. What the Bible is describing here is the first monotheistic, interfaith prayer meeting in human history!  

      There is, however, one surprising omission from this gathering. Aaron and the elders are present, but Moses, Jethro’s son-in-law, is not mentioned as being at the gathering. There was good reason for this. Moses was on a different spiritual plane to everyone around him. How could a person with direct communication with YHWH sacrifice to a distant, universal God?  Moses knew Jethro well from the years he had been in his house. His father-in-law would never change, which is why Moses excused himself.   (According to Rashi to Exodus 18:12 and based on a Mechilta, Moses was serving the meal to his father-in-law, and this is why he is not mentioned as being at the meal).

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2. Midrash Genesis Rabah 33:7 assumes that the 150 days follow the first 40 days of flooding. However, if this were the case, the ark would have rested on Mount Ararat too early, on the 17th of the 7th month, when the waters were still engorging. The Midrash resolves this problem by reinterpreting the seventh month to mean not the 7th month of the year, but the 7th month from the beginning of the flood, which would be the 17th day of the 9th month, i.e., one month later. Following a strict lunar calendar, the flood would then have ended on the 1st of the 9th month, and during this 16-day period the waters would have subsided sufficiently for the ark to come to rest on Mount Ararat.

 

3. Nachaminides to Genesis 8:5. Nachmanides has a problem with the interpretation of Genesis Rabah since it seems to deviate from the plain meaning of the text, especially as the midrash will go back to using the normal months of the year a few verses later (Genesis 8:13). This leads him to the interpretation that the 40 days of the flood are included within the 150 days. Hence, the rain commenced on the 17th of the 2nd month, and 150 days later (i.e., 5 months later) on the 17th of the 7th month the ark came to rest. On that very day “God caused a spirit to pass over the earth and the waters subsided” (Genesis 8:1), with the waters subsiding from being 15 amos above the mountains to an amount sufficient for the ark to come to rest on Mount Ararat. Nachmanides assumes that the waters started to abate from the time the ark rested on Mount Ararat.  

 

4. The Chronology of the Flood, in A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Part Two. From Noah to Abraham, A Commentary on Genesis V19-XI32 by U Cassuto, p43, First English Edition, The Magnes Press, P.O. Box 7695, Jerusalem 91076, Israel. 

 

Cassuto uses the dates mentioned in the Bible for elucidating his timeline. Hence, we read: “And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters had dried from upon the earth” (Genesis 8:13), and this section continues: “And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried [completely].” (Genesis 8:14). The midrash Bereishis Rabba resolves the contradiction between these two sentences by explaining that on the first day of the first month there was still a crust of mud on the earth making it difficult for Noah and his family to leave the ark. (Bereishis Rabba 33:7. See also Rashi to Genesis 8:13). It was only by the 27th day of the second month that the earth sufficiently dry for them to step outside. There is no reason to reject this explanation. But why the first day of the first month in Genesis 8:13? Prior to the Exodus, this date was Rosh Hashona (literally the Head of the Year), the Jewish festival commemorating the creation of the world;22 and it is likely that the Bible is implying here that with the survival of Noah and his sons, the earth was destined for a new beginning. The 27th day of the 2nd month is exactly one solar year after the flood began, suggesting perhaps that God was totally in control of the natural elements both by solar and lunar dating. (Rashi to Genesis 8:14). A regular solar year is 365 days. A regular lunar year, in which 6 months have 29 days each and 6 months have 30 days each, contains 354 days).

      Cassuto’s explanation makes a number of assumptions. Like Nachmanides, he assumes that the forty period of the flood is included within the 150 days. He also assumes that this 150-day period is equivalent to five 30-day lunar months. In actuality, 5 lunar months is 147 days (and the Talmudic explanation does account for the days in this manner). He also assumes that the “fountains of the deep” and the “windows of the heaven” were closed at the end of 40 days, i.e., on the 27th day of the third month. During the first 40 days the full strength of the flood was maintained and was sufficient to cover the mountaintops to a depth of 15 amos (Genesis 7:20). He also suggests that the word vayigburu in Genesis 7:24 means not that the waters strengthened, but that the waters prevailed, i.e., that the waters had sufficient power that they did not decline appreciably until after the 150-day period had passed. Nevertheless, during these 150 days the waters were already receding back into the “tehom (depths)” so that by the end of the 150-day period they had diminished sufficiently for the ark to rest upon a mountaintop. This is exactly five months from the onset of the Flood.  He also assumes that the birds were sent out at seven-day intervals. The text does not explicitly state that the dove was first sent out seven days after a raven had been sent out, although the Bible does mention that he waited yet another seven days (Genesis 8:10) with respect to sending out the dove a second time. Note in particular the 7th line of the table below (marked by an asterisk) in which the raven from a P source is sent out exactly 40 days from the tops of the mountains becoming visible, which also is a P source. This 40-day period is found in a J sentence which is part of the chiastic structure and is also a J number. 

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5.   Chapter 14 The World that the Bible Produced in Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman, HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. (For imaginative political intrigue - this is excellent reading. Whether it bears any relationship to anything historic is another matter). 

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6.  The Names of God Rabbi in The Koren Siddur by Sir Jonathan Sacks, pxiv, Koren Publishers, Jerusalem, Israel, First Hebrew/ English Edition, 2009. 

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7.   Gilgamesh, tablet XI in Myths from Mesopotamia. Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh and Others by Stephanie Dalley. iv, p113-114, Oxford University Press, Revised edition 2000.

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8.   Twelfth paragraph: the Sign of the Covenant in A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Part Two. From Noah to Abraham by U Cassuto, p134, First English Edition, The Magnes Press, P.O. Box 7695, Jerusalem 91076, Israel.

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9.   Wenham Gordon J. The coherence of the flood narrative. VT 28 (1977); 336-348, and discussed in Isaac M Kikawada and Arthur Quinn. A Provocative Challenge to the Documentary Hypothesis. Before Abraham Was. Chapter IV, One Noah, One Flood, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, original edition 1985.