Beth-El Baptist Church

03/22/2009

Greg Tomlinson


Open Session: What is the historical timing of the flood?


This was an open session in which the timing of Genesis 6-11 became the primary focus.


  1. Where did Cain get his wife?

Genesis 5:4


Since Adam and Eve had numerous sons and daughters, Cain would have married his sister.


  1. What is the second woman named in the bible?

Genesis 4:19


The early scriptures are strongly patristic in nature with little recognition of women. The first woman noted was Eve (Gen 3:20), the second and third named women were the wives of Lamech who is NOT in the preserved bloodline of Noah and our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.


  1. Was the earth physically divided during Peleg's time (Gen 10:25)?

Genesis 10:31


Due to being after Genesis 9 which terminates the flood and before Genesis 11 and the tower of Babel, especially in light of Genesis 10:31, the dividing of the earth would be a linguistic or cultural dividing because the “nations divided in the earth after the flood” (10:32) “after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations” (10:31). Prior to the flood the earth had only one language (11:1) but Genesis 10:31 mentions “tongues” or languages thus this occurs after the events of Genesis 11.


  1. How long did it take for the flood waters to recede?

Genesis 6 is the building of the ark

Genesis 7 is the gathering of the animals, the closing of the ark (13, 16)

Genesis 7:24 – water prevailed 150 days

Genesis 8:3 – recalls those days

Genesis 8:4 – Ark came to rest (7th month, 17th day) (~213 days after the flood began)

Genesis 8:5 – Waters decreased until the 10th month, 1st day.

Genesis 8:6 – 40 days after the decreasing of the water, windows opened, raven released

Genesis 8:10 – 47 days, a dove is released and returns with an olive branch

Genesis 8:12 – 54 days, a dove is released and does not return.

Genesis 8:13 – 601 years, waters were dried up. Ground was dry.


All in all it took about 144 days or 5 months for the water to recede. The total time for the flood and receding of the water and drying of the land took approximately 1 year.


  1. Could the 601 years be from the creation of the world?

Genesis 5:27 – Methusaleh was 969 years old

Genesis 5:5 – Adam was 930 years old

Genesis 9:29 – Noah was 950 years old


This 601 years could not be from the creation of the world because there were men before the time of the flood who were older. It could also not be a time related to the longevity of a blood line because Adam was younger then Methusaleh and is the the parent of every living human being. His physical descendants are still alive today, you and me.


The most likely answer is that the 601 years is from the birth of Noah, the builder of the ark.


  1. Is the maximum life span of a man 120 years?

Genesis 6:3 – limits the days of a man to 120 years

Exodus 6:20 – Amram lived to be 137 years, thus 120 years cannot be a maximum life span.

Genesis 7:6 – The flood began when Noah was 600 years, and ended when he was 601.


Therefore the 120 years is the amount of time left from when Noah was commissioned to build the ark until the flood waters came. Noah was 480 years old when he began building the ark.