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The following is an explanation of the timing of Noah's Flood.
It covers;
- Timings prior to the deluge,
- Timeline of the deluge / Flood,
- Final drying of the ground,
- Subsequent delay of the grain harvest.
Let us first list the time periods and dates given in Genesis.
Periods of time;
7 days (before Flood) - Gen 7:4
7 days (before Flood) - Gen 7:10
7 days (after Flood) - Gen 8:10
7 days (after Flood) - Gen 8:12
40 days and 40 nights of rain - Gen 7:4
40 days and 40 nights of rain - Gen 7:12
40 days of deluge - Gen 7:17
40 days - Gen 8:6
150 days - Gen 7:24
150 days - Gen 8:3
Key dates;
17th of 2nd month, year 600* - Gen 7:11
17th of 7th month, year 600 - Gen 8:4
1st of the 10th, year 600 - Gen 8:5
1st of 1st month, year 601 - Gen 8:13
27th of 2nd month, year 601 - Gen 8:14
* Calendar year of the life of Noah
Due to the ambiguity present in this area of Scripture there has arisen
many different perspectives.
How should we distinguish error from wisdom? What should we look for?
1) Does the presented view show a coherent connection between
the various dates and periods stated in Scripture.
2) Is there a proper resolution of the conflict between the
verses which repeatedly imply the Flood lasted 40 days and
the clear indication that it lasted for a period of at least
10 months.
3) Is there a satisfactory clarification of exactly when the
Flood ended.
There are many aspects of detail which need to be discussed.
However, to allow the reader a quick overview the final
compilation is represented below.
(The complexities are discussed in the 'Flood Duration Notes'
section.)
*** The Flood Chronology ***
Noah told to start - 1/1 
to load the ark |
| after 7 days - Gen 7:4
Start 40 days/nights - 8/1
|
40 days/nights | after 7 sabbath days - Gen 7:10
of rain | (4/1,11/1,18/1,25/1,2/2,9/2,16/2)
|
Great Deluge starts - 17/2 DEEP BROKEN, - Start 1st 150 days
| HEAVEN |
| OPENED |
| | 150 days
| | - waters
| | prevail
| | - Gen 7:24
| |
| |
| |
| |
Ark Rests - 17/7 DEEP/HEAVEN - Start 2nd 150 days
| STOPPED |
| |
| | 150 days
| | - waters
| | recede
| | - Dry wind
| | - Gen 8:3
40th Sabbath! - 26/11 |
(window opened) | 7 days |
| |
Raven sent out - 3/12 |
| 7 days,(implied) |
| |
Dove sent out - 10/12 |
| 7 days,Gen 8:10 |
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Dove has olive leaf - 17/12 ABATED - Start 2 weeks drying
| 7 days,Gen 8:12
|
Dove not return - 24/12
| 7 days
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Ground 'parched' - 1/1/601 - First day of new era
* 27th day of 2nd month - Earth 'ashamed'
* 'tenth' month of Gen 8:5 - NOT tenth month!
Flood Duration Notes
1) Noah's Flood - Two Periods of 150 Days
Two periods of 150 days are mentioned. (These represent
an important structural element in the compilation of
the Flood's chronology.)
1) Gen 7:24 - The first 150 days defines the period of
the prevailing of the waters,
Gen 7:24 And the waters prevailed on the earth
one hundred and fifty days.
First period: started - 17th of 2nd month
ended - 16th of 7th month.
2) Gen 8:3 - The second 150 days defines the period of
decreasing waters.
Gen 8:3 And the waters receded continually from
the earth. At the end of the hundred
and fifty days the waters decreased.
Second period: started - 17th of 7th month
ended - 16th of 12th month.
[ NB: The Hebrew word found at the end of Gen 8:3
(translated 'decreased' by the NKJV) is Strong's
2637 and in other verses is commonly rendered
'fail', 'lack' or 'want'. If one replaces the
word 'decreased' with either 'failed', 'lacked'
or 'wanted' the intended meaning becomes clear.
It seems that many compiling the chronology of
the Flood have thought this comment was merely
a repetition of the 150 days mentioned in
Gen 7:24. ]
3) It is interesting to note that at the peak of the Flood,
between these two periods of 150 days, the Flood waters
had reached 15 cubits above the mountains (Gen 7:20).
This can be contrasted to the height of the ark, which is
recorded as having been 30 cubits (Gen 6:15).
2) When was the Ground Completely Dry?
Many translations indicate the Flood ended on the 27th day of
the 2nd month of the 601st year of Noah.
Gen 8:14 And in the second month, on the twenty
seventh day of the month, the earth was
dried.
However, Genesis 7:6 states Noah was 600 years old during the
duration of the Flood! This excludes the possibility that the
Flood continued longer than 12 months.
Gen 7:6 Noah was six hundred years old when
the flood of waters was on the earth.
In addition Genesis 8:13 had already advised 'the waters were
dried up from the earth' and the 'surface of the ground was dry'
at the start of 601st year.
Gen 8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth
and first year, in the first month, the first
day of the month, that the waters were dried
up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering
of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface
of the ground was dry.
The solution to this dilemma can be found by examining the meanings
of the Hebrew words used.
Gen 8:13 - 1/1/601
a) 'dried' - Strong's 2717 - to 'parch' (through drought)
by analogy to 'desolate' or
'destroy'
b) 'dry' - Strong's 2720 - from 2717
'parched' or 'ruined'
Gen 8:14 - 27/2/601
a) 'dried' - Strong's 3001 - to 'be ashamed', 'confused'
or 'disappointed';
- for water, to 'dry up'
- for herbage, to 'wither'.
If the ground was 'parched' on the 1/1/601, the ground was fully
dry on that day!
The final day of the period of 'drying' had been the prior day,
i.e. the last day of the 12th month.
That leaves the question of how are we to understand the reference
to the 27th day of the 2nd month of year 601?
(The 27th day of the 2nd month is more fully discussed down below.)
3) 30 Day Months
An important issue one observes from the provided Flood timing
is that it indicates the months were always composed of 30 days.
Hence, we have 150 days from the 17th of the 2nd month to the
16th of the 7th month and a further 150 days from the 17th of
the 7th month would take us to the 16th of the 12th month.
In addition, the way the overall compilation comes together
(when 30 day months are utilised) confirms that biblical months
were indeed set at a fixed 30 day duration.
4) Forty Days and Forty Nights - Gen 7:4,12
When people consider the Genesis Flood they associate it with
the period of '40 days and 40 nights'.
As a result when they study this topic in Scripture they are
somewhat surprised to see that the text is picturing a Flood
which spans over ten months.
Also, they can be further confused when they notice that a
period of 150 days seems to define how long it took for the
Flood to reach its maximum height.
Therefore, there is a need to look closely at exactly what
Scripture says about the '40 days and 40 nights'.
There are two verses which use the precise terminology 'forty
days and forty nights'.
(Other verses, just referring to 'forty days', are discussed
a little further along.)
Gen 7:12 And the rain was on the earth forty days
and forty nights.
Gen 7:4 "For after seven more days I will cause
it to rain on the earth forty days and
forty nights, and I will destroy from
face of the earth all living things
that I have made."
The deluge is described in Scripture as being composed of
water coming from - fountains of the deep
- windows of heaven
- rain (refer Gen 8:2)
Notice, Genesis 7:12 only mentions 'rain'.
Genesis 7:4 initially mentions 'rain' and then goes on to
talk about the deluge. But the question has to be asked,
"Does the second half of this verse, that referring to the
Flood, relate to what happens during or following the
'40 days and 40 nights'?".
To help us answer this question, consider that the 17th day
of the 2nd month (when the Flood was unleashed) would equate
to the 47th day of the 600th year. Hence a literal 7 days
followed by a following 40 days would have the last of the
40 days being the actual day of the start of the Flood!
So there is an indication that the '40 days and 40 nights'
of rain helped bridge the gap between seven literal days
(placed at the start of the 600th year) and the subsequent
start of the Flood.
This would mean that the 40 days of rain would have served
as a warning!
Also, these 40 days would have fulfilled the purpose of
soaking the surface of the earth prior to the unleashing
of the deluge.
Notes 1) Placing the '40 days and 40 nights' prior to
the Flood provides a clear distinction between
this period and the longer 150 day period of
Gen 7:24. Otherwise they would share a mutual
starting point and this 40 day period would be
somewhat 'lost' in the longer 150 day period.
2) Any rainfall prior to the deluge should not be
considered part of the Flood as normal events
continued to occur right up to the start of
the deluge.
Matt 24:38 "For as in the days before the
flood, they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the
day that Noah entered the ark,"
3) The forty day period, prior to the Flood, may
also be seen as an allusion to a longer prophetic
warning period leading up to endtime events.
5) More than Seven Days for the Loading of the Ark
Readers usually only envisage the entry of the animals and
Noah's family into the ark. Therefore, a period of 7 days
may seem quite appropriate.
However, if one also considers the necessity to load food
(and other miscellaneous items) sufficient to span a period
of ten months then a longer period of time would seem to be
needed.
Apart from Gen 7:4, where a 7 day period preceded the 40
days and nights, there is also a 7 day period in Gen 7:10.
Gen 7:10 And it came to pass after seven days
that the waters of the flood were on
the earth.
This verse suggests only 7 literal days preceded the Flood.
So how are we to understand this verse when we are placing
the duration of 40 days and nights between the literal seven
days of Gen 7:4 and the start of the Flood?
The answer is a little unexpected.
The Gen 7:10 reference to 'seven days' is a reference to
7 weekly Sabbath days!
Sabbaths, which are being counted from the start of the
600th year.
Sabbaths falling on the following dates;
4/1/600, 11/1/600, 18/1/600, 25/1/600,
2/2/600, 9/2/600, 16/2/600.
[NB: This may at first seem a little unusual.
However, what becomes clear as the Flood
account is further reviewed is that the
entire Flood arrangement is unexpectedly
heavily centred around the counting of
passing weekly Sabbaths. ]
6) Noah's Flood lasted 'Forty Days'
Apart from the two '40 days and 40 nights' verses there are
two other 40 day references.
Gen 7:17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days.
The waters increased and lifted up the ark,
and it rose high above the earth.
Gen 8:6 So it came to pass at the end of forty
days, that Noah opened the window of
the ark which he had made.
These verses are associated with the duration of the Flood.
What is not immediately clear is that these 'forty day' verses
refer to 40 weekly Sabbath days.
After the 40th Sabbath Noah was permitted to open the window
of the ark! (Refer Gen 8:6 above.)
(This was necessary to allow the releasing of the birds.)
So quite suddenly these two 40 day verses are taking us from
the start of the Flood to events which lead up to the finishing
of the Flood.
The Flood duration covers two periods of 150 days, so a mere
40 day period is not going to be adequate. However, a period
of 40 weekly Sabbaths, spanning 280 days, would reach to the
time when the window of the ark would need to be opened.
The 40 weekly Sabbaths were,
1) 23/2/600 11) 3/5/600 21) 13/7/600 31) 23/9/600
2) 30/2/600 12) 10/5/600 22) 20/7/600 32) 30/9/600
3) 7/3/600 13) 17/5/600 23) 27/7/600 33) 7/10/600
4) 14/3/600 14) 24/5/600 24) 4/8/600 34) 14/10/600
5) 21/3/600 15) 1/6/600 25) 11/8/600 35) 21/10/600
6) 28/3/600 16) 8/6/600 26) 18/8/600 36) 28/10/600
7) 5/4/600 17) 15/6/600 27) 25/8/600 37) 5/11/600
8) 12/4/600 18) 22/6/600 28) 2/9/600 38) 12/11/600
9) 19/4/600 19) 29/6/600 29) 9/9/600 39) 19/11/600
10) 26/4/600 20) 6/7/600 30) 16/9/600 40) 26/11/600
7) The Closing Seven Day Intervals
In deriving the chronology of the Flood it is important to
place the sequence of closing 7 day intervals so that they
have relevance and connection to the events and dates which
finish the Flood.
Scripture records two such 7 day periods.
Gen 8:10 And he waited yet another seven days,
and again he sent the dove out from
the ark.
Gen 8:12 So he waited yet another seven days
and sent out the dove, which did not
return again to him anymore.
Another 3rd earlier 7 day period is implied by Gen 8:10,
ie 'he waited yet another seven days'.
So in summary,
- After the 40th Sabbath the window of the ark was opened.
- The next Sabbath the raven was released.
- After 7 days the dove is released and returns after
finding no resting place.
- After a further 7 days the dove is again released and
returns with a freshly picked olive leaf.
- After a still further 7 days the dove is once more
released and does not return.
- The next Sabbath the covering of the ark is removed.
8) Weekly Sabbath Cycle - Provides Structure
While the Sabbath structure can at first easily be seen in the
latter bird releases - it has not been generally realised that
the Sabbath cycle is critical in structuring the overall time
line of the Genesis Flood.
These are the dates upon which the weekly Sabbath fell.
Year 600, Month 1 - 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th
Month 2 - 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th
Month 3 - 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th
Month 4 - 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
Month 5 - 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
Month 6 - 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
Month 7 - 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
Month 8 - 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th
Month 9 - 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th
Month 10 - 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th
Month 11 - 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
Month 12 - 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
Year 601 - Month 1 - 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
Month 2 - 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
Note: 1) The 16th of 2nd month was the 7th weekly
Sabbath of the 600th year and was the
day before the 17th start of the deluge.
2) The 26th of the 11th month was the 40th
Sabbath since the unleashing of the Flood.
3) The birds were released on the Sabbaths of
the 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th of the 12th
month.
4) The 17th of the 12th month Sabbath was the
day after the 300 days and was also the
start of 2 full weeks during which the
ground dried.
5) The Sabbath falling on the 1st day of the
New Year was when the cover of the ark was
removed.
6) The specified 27th day of the 2nd month
of Noah's 601st year, when the earth was
'ashamed', was also a weekly Sabbath.
9) Genesis 8:5 - 'tenth' month
Gen 8:5 And the waters decreased continually
until the tenth month. In the tenth
month, on the first day of the month,
the tops of the mountains were seen.
A more literal translation provides;
Gen 8:5 And the waters they began to go and abate
until the month tenth. In the tenth, in
one to the month, they were seen the tops
of the mountains.
In trying to compile a coherent and integrated connection
between the biblically provided dates and periods, this verse
raises a few dilemmas.
1) The first portion of the verse indicates that the
waters continued to decrease 'until' (ie, only 'as
far as') the start of the tenth month.
Yet we know this was not the case! The waters were
still decreasing in the twelfth month!
2) The second portion of the verse states that on the
first day of the tenth month the mountain tops were
'seen'. (Some translations render 'seen' as 'appeared',
however the Hebrew word, Strong's H7200, means 'to see'.)
Prior to the opening of the window, or removal of the
covering, it would not have been possible for Noah and
his family to have 'seen' the mountain tops. (As we
are told in Gen 6:14 that the ark had been covered
inside and outside with pitch!)
We know that the window of the ark was opened late 11th
month and the covering was not removed until the first
day of the first month of the next year.
What most Flood chronologies fail to fully acknowledge is
that something is not quite right with the 'tenth' month
timing of Gen 8:5.
If one ignores the two references to 'tenth' (encountered
in this verse) then one would conclude that the month being
alluded to in Gen 8:5 was the first month of the new year!
[NB: 1) The removal of the covering of the ark on the
first day of year 601 certainly would have
allowed the tops of the mountains to have been
seen.
2) The first day of the new year was also the date
immediately following the final decreasing and
drying of the Flood waters.]
So while it is perfectly acceptable to translate  as
'tenth' (Strong's Ref. H6224), it is also apparent that
the Flood story and the text of Gen 8:5 are suggesting
another translation is needed.
Given the Hebrew letters presented, i.e. , there are
some other possible translations, ie Strong's H6223 or H6238.
A} H6223 means 'rich'. (H6223 is derived from H6238.)
or
B) H6238 means 'accumulate' suggesting 'grow/make rich'.
Hence, H6238 is usually rendered 'enrich' or 'become rich'
or 'make rich'.
In the form we have the alternative meanings 'rich'
or 'accumulated', or 'enriched'.
It is important at this point to explain how the biblical
calendar system functioned.
The Biblical Calendar
A year is composed of twelve 30 day months. This means
that a normal biblical year is going to be about 5 days
too short each year. (Solar years are approximately
365.24 days in length.)
Over a number of years this shortfall would create an
issue - as God's festivals had to stay aligned with the
harvests (grain and grape).
So in some years it was necessary to add an extra month
- this was done when the grain would not be ready for
harvest on the appropriate date in the first month.
NB: The Jewish faith often teaches that this additional
month was added as an additional 13th month in the
prior year.
The teaching of the Flood account is that this view
is incorrect.
Rather, the additional month was to be added to the
start of the New Year and in that position act as
a preliminary first month. It was a month which
would precede the month of Abib.
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Following the Flood there was no likelihood of any grain harvest
in the first month.
Hence, the actual first month of Noah's 601st year was an
'added month'. Added months could be viewed as being composed
of accumulated additional days. It was a month 'rich' with
extra days.
It was a month, the need for which, grew with the passing of
each normal 12 month year.
The first month, in the 601st year of Noah, had not been
a normal first month, i.e. it was not the month of Abib!
(The name Abib indicates 'green/tender ears of the New Year's
grain harvest'.)
A corrected rendering of Genesis 8:5 would read,
Gen 8:5 And the waters they began to go and abate
until the month 'enriched'. In the
'enriched', in one to the month, they
were seen the tops of the mountains.
or
Gen 8:5 And the waters they began to go and abate
until the month accumulated. In the
accumulated, in one to the month, they
were seen the tops of the mountains.
The mountains were not seen until the first day of the 601st
calendar year of Noah!
Despite opening the window of the ark some five weeks earlier
it seems this had not allowed Noah a perspective which would
enable him to see the tops of the mountains. That it was only
after the waters had fully dried and Noah set about removing
the covering of the ark that he for the first time saw the
tops of the mountains.
10) The 27th Day of 2nd Month
As mentioned above the Hebrew word rendered 'dried' in Gen 8:14
does not mean 'dry', but rather 'ashamed'!
- The Hebrew word for 'ashamed' in verse 14 must
be understood in relation to the subject being
discussed. The subject in this verse is not
water, but 'the earth'!
Gen 8:14 And in the second month, on the twenty
seventh day of the month, the earth was
ashamed.
Why would the earth be 'ashamed' on the 'twenty seventh day'
of the second month?
Despite the addition of an extra month at the start of the 601st
year it would have still been impossible for there to have been
any new grain available for harvest in the second month.
What is being implied is that on the 'twenty seventh day' of
the second month there was a required offering (a provision
of New Year's grain) which could not be presented (due to it
still being too soon after the Flood).
In the Old Covenant the first required New Year's grain offering
is the presentation of a sheaf of grain during the Feast of
Unleavened Bread in the month of Abib.
This was performed by the Levitical Priesthood.
The 27th date is too late in the month to be a candidate for
the Wave Sheaf Day (which occurred after a weekly Sabbath and
between the 15th and 21st of Abib). Also, there was no Levitical
system in place at the time of the Flood.
However, no Levitical system, does not mean that no resemblance
to the Old Covenant was present.
[ NB: The Wave Sheaf Day was pivotal in God's
calendar system, because it represented
a type of 'marker'. Prior to this day it
was NOT acceptable to harvest any of the
New Year's grain.] |
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Given how the weekly cycle fell in the post Flood year, the 21st
day of the second month would have corresponded to the Wave Sheaf
Day.
Hence, in this year, the 27th day of the 2nd month represented
the day upon which fell the first weekly Sabbath following what
should have been the start of the New Year's harvest.
The 27th of the second month, was the first day the people of
faith were in this pre-Levitical era required to have brought
to God an offering of some of the New Year's grain harvest.
So what Genesis 8:14 is saying was that on that day, not only
had the literal earth been unable to yield any new grain, but
the symbolic earth - the people of God (Noah and his family) -
had been unable to present a required/customary New Year's
grain offering.
11) Prophetic Significance
The Flood and the periods associated with it are likely to have
prophetic significance.
1) The 150 day period is also alluded to in Rev 9:5 as
'five months'.
As the 'five months' of Rev 9:5 is a part of the description
of the 5th trumpet there is perhaps a suggestion that the
duration of the 6th trumpet might also symbolically correlate
to the second 150 day 'dry wind' period of the Flood.
2) The 40 days and 40 nights period leading up to the Flood
are a shadow of a longer duration of pre Great Tribulation
warning.
A period of 2,000 years, being 40 Jubilees of 50 years each.
A time when the words of God would gently fall - a time
when spiritual growth could occur - a time of witness.
Prior to God entering into final endtime judgment.
3) The Flood unleashed in the 600th year of Noah being a type
of the wrath of God being scheduled for the 600th decade of
man.
The wrath of God being a period of judgment in preparation
for the resetting of His Work.
Ancillary Teachings of the Flood
1) Months are always 30 days in length.
(Months are not based on the lunar cycle!)
2) Calendar years begin around the time of the grain harvest.
They do not begin at the time of the seventh month 'Day of
Trumpets' celebration (as some Jewish groups teach.)
3) An additional month was added to the START of a year, when
the grain was not ready to harvest in the first month.
(Passover is often stated to occur in the first month
of the year (eg, Exod 12:2,18 & Lev 23:5). However,
the Hebrew word for 'first' is H7223, which can also mean
first in rank, ie, 'chief' or 'first in importance'. So
what is being stated, in such first month verses, is that
Passover, and other observances in this month, occur in
the 'chief' month of the year. This chief month of the
year, (while normally being, also the first in time), may
in some years actually fall in the second month of the
biblical year.)
4) References to 'tenth month' may actually be references to
the 'enriched' or 'accumulated' month. References to the
added month.
5) The date of the first weekly Sabbath after a Wave Sheaf Day
can be as late as the 27th day of the second month.
This means that what some Jews teach, i.e. that the wave sheaf
always falls on the 16th of Abib, is incorrect.
6) The weekly Sabbath is highly represented in the compiled
Flood chronology. (The position of the weekly Sabbath
can be identified throughout the 600th year and can also be
seen in th early months of the 601st year.)
7) Some form of similar offering and observance worship existed
prior to the establishment of the Levitical system.
Awareness of the weekly Sabbath was certainly present!
(PS: This does not necessarily imply that such observances
form part of the New Covenant.)
8) The structure of the Flood timeline encompasses some elements
of prophetic significance.
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