Bible Studies In The Word of God

GENESIS 7

 

 

Verses 1-3. Here is where we see the further instructions about what living beings were to be taken in. The clean were to be taken in by sevens which means seven pairs and the un¬clean one pair, and eacb of these pairs was to consist in the male and female. Since no record is here given us as to what constituted clean and unclean we are forced to conclude that God instructed Noah verbally about this. One purpose for taking these things into the ark is expressed in last of this paragraph to be "to keep seed alive upon the face of the earth ” And we will learn later that man was to be given flesh to eat, also would be called on to make animal sacrifices to God. But in both these uses only the clean would be accepted. Hence the seven of the clean required to be taken in while only one pair of the unclean.

Verses 4, 5. "Yet seven days” and it was to rain forty days and forty nights. Of course this means that when forty days had come the rain would start and continue for that long a period. And we note here that Noah did as was told which means that at the end of this paragraph Noah is in the ark although it Is to be seven days yet till the rain starts.

Verse 6. This means it was In the year that would make him that many years of age. See verse 11 below.

Verses 7-9. Comments on this paragraph are same as on verses 1-3 above.

Verse 10. After seven days. This was seven days after Noah had entered the ark.

Verses 11-16. This gives the exact date when the rain began to fall which was the 17th day of 2nd month of Noah’s 600th year of life. Therefore the date he entered the ark was the 10th day of that month. Windows of heaven were opened. See notes at chapter 1:7.

Verses 17-21. So-called scientists ciaim the Bible does not teach that the water was over the entire earth. That only the comparatively small portion, the part where man was living, was covered. But tho statement is that the waters were over all the high hills “under the whole heaven.” Since the entire earth has some hills on it the conclusion is that the whole earth was covered. Fifteen cubits upward. That is, the water extended upward from the tops of the highest hills that distance. So whatever is the height of the highest hill, by adding 15 cubits to that we will have the depth of the water at the lowest place.

Verse 22. The use of such words as "nostrils" and “breath of life" and “dry land” shows that only land ani¬mals entered the ark. That was because the other creatures were not in any danger from the flood. Had God wanted to destroy the fish he would have used some other means since water is their natural element.

Verse 23, Living. This is from CHAT and Strong defines it “alive; hence raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also life whether literally or figuratively.” So the context would have to be referred to in determining in any given case whether the living thing being con­sidered Is plant or animal. And the context in this case is right in the verse because it mentions animal things only. This would leave us wfth the thought that plant life was not all destroyed. And this agrees with the statement in 8:11 that the dove came in with an olive leaf. This could not have been propagated from the provisions of Noah in the ark for lie had not left the ark as yet Besides, there would not have been time enough for that kind of development

 

Verse 24. Prevailed. Means they remained at their height that long.