Genesis, Start To Finish

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● Gen 4:17a . . Cain knew his wife,

Cain married one of his sisters: he had to because there was no other human life
available anywhere on earth other than that descending from Adam.

He was created directly from the earth's soil, whereas Adam's wife was constructed
from human material taken from his body. In other words: Eve's flesh was biologically
just as much Adam's flesh as Adam's except for certain physical characteristics; viz:
Eve wasn't a discrete species of human life, rather; she was the flip side of the same
coin.

Upon completion of Adam and his wife, God wrapped the work of creation and has
made nothing new for the cosmos ever since, i.e. it was all done. Thereafter all human
life descended from that first couple.

"Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living."
(Gen 3:20)

"From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth."
(Acts 17:26)

An even more convincing example of prehistoric incest is Noah and his three sons and
their wives. Nobody else survived the Flood; ergo: Shem's, Ham's, and Japheth's
children all married amongst themselves.

"Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth.
These three were the sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was populated."
(Gen 9:18-19)

● Gen 4:17b . . and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he then founded a city, and
named the city after his son Enoch.

The "city" probably wasn't the kind of city we're used to thinking. The Hebrew word
for it simply means a community, in the widest sense; even of a mere encampment
or post.

Whether Cain actually lived in a permanent settlement is doubtful since he was
stuck with vagrancy and wandering. Cain's city was very likely nothing more than a
migratory village.

● Gen 4:18-19 . .To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael
begot Methusael, and Methusael begot Lamech. Lamech took to himself two wives:
the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah.

Adah's name means ornament. It's not unusual for people to name their little girls
after precious and/or semi-precious stones like Jewel, Pearl, Crystal, Ruby, Jade,
Emerald, Sapphire, and Amber.

Zillah's name means shade (or shadow), whether literal or figurative. Shade is a
good thing in sunny locales so Zillah's name may have been associated with
shelter, protection, peace, serenity, and rest-- as in Song 2:3.

Lamech's marriages are the very first incidence of polygamy in the Bible; and I
have yet to see a passage in the Old Testament where God forbids it other than the
restrictions imposed upon Jewish monarchs. (Deut 17:17 cf. 2Sam 12:8)

Aside from the obvious sensual benefits men derive from harems; polygamy does
have its practical side. The gestation period for human beings is nine months. At
that rate, it would take a man many years to build up his clan to a respectable size.
But with multiple wives, he could speed things up considerably. In primitive
cultures, large families are very influential, and their numbers crucial to survival
and self preservation.

"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are sons born to a man in his youth. Happy is
the man who fills his quiver with them; they shall not be put to shame when they
contend with the enemy in the gate." (Ps 127:4-5)
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● Gen 4:20 . . Adah bore Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who dwell in tents
and amidst herds.

This is the Bible's very first mention of man-made portable shelters. Tents, teepees,
wigwams, etc; make it possible to roam long distances in relative comfort while
searching for foods and pastures.

Abraham and Sarah were housed in portable shelters the whole time they lived in
Canaan. With portable shelters, Enochville could be a mobile community, staying in
one place only long enough to deplete its natural resources before moving on to
better diggings to invade, plunder, exploit, litter, and pollute.

Jabal wasn't the father of animal husbandry as the passage seems to suggest. Abel
was already tending flocks before Jabal was born (Gen 4:2). Dwelling "amidst"
herds describes the lifestyle of North America's early plains Indians; whose
livelihood depended a great deal upon wild buffalo. Though they followed the herds,
the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Crow, Blackfoot, Comanche, and Shoshone,
et el; didn't actually raise any of their own buffalo like on a ranch.

Dwelling amidst herds is a nomadic way of life rather than one that's domesticated;
hence the need for portable shelters; and the herds (e.g. deer, elk, wild goats,
antelope, wildebeests, et al) would provide fabric for not only the tents, but also for
shoes and clothing; which would need replacement quite often.

One of Lewis' and Clark's complaints, when they were passing through the Oregon
territory, was that moccasins rotted off their feet in the Northwest's climate. Even
without rot, the soles of moccasins are not all that resistant to wear. Buckskins,
manufactured from Elk hide and/or deerskin, fared little better.

● Gen 4:21 . . And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all
who play the lyre and the pipe.

The word for "ancestor" is from 'ab (awb); a primitive word which means father, in
a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application. In this particular case,
'ab wouldn't mean literal kin, but likely analogous to an inventor who is the first to
introduce a new concept which then later becomes widely adopted.

The word for "lyre" is from kinnowr (kin-nore') and means: to twang. So the actual
instrument itself is difficult to identify. It could have been a harp. But then again, it
may have even been something as simple as a string stretched between a washtub
and a broom stick.

A stringed instrument is a pretty advanced musical tool and certainly not something
you would expect to find among so primitive a people as the antediluvians. The
interesting thing about a twanging instrument is its string. How did the Cainites
make them? Of what material?

String can be spun from plant fibers. For example the ancient Kumeyaay (Koom'-yi)
people of southern California made surprisingly strong, sturdy twine for bows and
baskets from agave leaves.

The word for "pipe" is from 'uwgab (oo-gawb') and means: a reed-instrument of
music.

A modern reed instrument is typically a woodwind that produces sound by vibrating
a thin strip of wood against the mouthpiece; like clarinets and saxophones (hence
the classification: woodwinds). But in that culture, it could very well have been
something as simple as a tube whistle made from a single hollow section of plant
stem; or several of those bundled together like a Pan flute.
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● Gen 4:22a . . As for Zillah, she bore Tubal-cain, who forged all implements of
copper and iron.

Copper, in its natural form, is too soft and pliable for practical purposes; but it's a
classification of metals called work-hardening. In other words, by pounding or
rolling cold copper, its mechanical properties can be greatly improved. It probably
didn't take Mr. Tubal-cain long to figure that out.

Adding a little tin to copper produces bronze, which is much stronger and tougher
than pure copper.

Copper's advantage in cooking is its natural heat conduction, which is very fast as
compared to iron and/or steel. It's also an excellent conductor of electricity, but
unless they were bottling lightening in those days, copper's electrical properties
would have to wait for future exploitation.

Iron, though stronger and harder than copper, is relatively soft and pliable in its
natural condition too; but with the addition of small amounts of carbon, it becomes
steel, which is quite a bit tougher than natural iron. Whether Tubal-cain figured that
out is difficult to know for sure.

● Gen 4:22b . . And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Her name basically means pleasant, amiable, or agreeable. A girl named Joy would
probably fit that category. Na'amah suggests that the people of Enochville were
content with their way of life.

So all in all, Enochville, though unproductive in agriculture, prospered through
manufacturing and commerce instead; trading the goods and services of their
industrial base for much needed produce; the same way that most urbanites still do
even today. People in towns and cities typically don't support themselves directly
from nature. They earn a medium of exchange in some sort of skill or profession,
then trade it with merchants to buy the things they need to survive.

The technological, and cultural, level of early Man was very high. It's interesting
that the identifying marks which evolutionary anthropologists use to denote the
emergence of a stone age culture into a civilized society were extant prior to the
Flood-- animal husbandry, agriculture, trades, urbanization, music, and metallurgy.
All these civilizational technologies emerged very early: within just a few
generations of Adam; rather than thousands upon thousands of years of human
development.

I'm not saying there were never any "stone-age" peoples. Obviously there were.
But though Cain's community may have started out as cave men, by Noah's day
they were past primitive conditions and actually pretty well advanced.

It's too bad the Flood wiped early Man off the map. Who can tell what he might
have accomplished had his progress not been interrupted. (cf. Gen 11:6)
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● Gen 4:23-24 . . And Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice! O
wives of Lamech, give ear to my speech! I have slain a man for wounding me, and
a lad for bruising me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.

Brag, Brag, Brag-- boy, I tell you some men sure love to show off and glorify
themselves in front of women; no doubt about it.

Apparently ol' Lamech figured the homicide he committed wasn't nearly as severe
as Cain's because Lamech killed in retribution; whereas Cain killed in rage. Also, Cain
killed his kid brother, whereas Lamech killed his relative a little more distant. So to
Lamech's way of thinking, Cain's killing was a much more serious crime; and if a
dirty rotten scoundrel like gramps was under divine protections, then, in Lamech's
judicious estimation, he deserved to be under them even more so.

* That's a good example of the kind of humanistic thinking brought about by the
forbidden fruit incident wherein Man's natural intuition became his moral compass
per Gen 3:22.

It almost appears that Lamech killed two people, but really it was only one; and in
fact a person younger than himself. Two words describe Lamech's opponent. The
first word is from 'enowsh (en-oshe') and simply means a mortal; viz: a human
being (of either gender), in general (singly or collectively); viz: someone and/or
somebody. The second word reveals the person's age. The word for "lad" is yeled
(yeh'-led) and means something born, i.e. a lad or offspring-- boy, child, fruit, son,
young one and/or young man.

Apparently Lamech got in a disagreement with somebody and they settled their
differences in a fight. The injury Lamech received in the ensuing scuffle could have
been something as simple as the man biting his ear or kicking him in the groin. It's
my guess Lamech over-reacted and stabbed the man to death with a spiffy hunting
knife that his son Tubal-cain made for him over in the blacksmith shop.

Lamech's sense of right and wrong reflects the humanistic conscience of a man void
of God's mentoring. In his earthly mind, revenge was an okay thing; which is a
common attitude in many primitive cultures.

But his opponent only wounded him. In return, Lamech took his life. The scales of
justice don't balance in a situation like that-- they tip. Pure law says eye for eye,
tooth for tooth, burning for burning, stripe for stripe, life for life, and no more. If
the lad's intent was obviously upon great bodily harm; Lamech would probably be
justified to kill in self defense since his opponent was a younger man and had the
advantage in age. However, according to Lamech's own testimony, he killed the
man in revenge; not self defense.

NOTE: Cain's side of the Adams family is characterized by technology, invention,
boasting, achievement, commerce, and violence. But not one word is recorded
concerning its association with, nor its interest in, their maker. Cain's entire
community was impious and went on to be completely destroyed right down to the
last man, woman, and child in Noah's flood. No one survives him today.

The Bible doesn't record even one single incident of a Cain family blessing God for
His goodness; nor for His mercy, nor for His providence. There is no record that any
of them ever said even one single prayer-- not even a simple lay-me-down-to-sleep
kind of prayer. Every one of the little kids in Enochville went to bed each night
without the slightest assurance that humanity's creator cared at all for the well
being of their little souls.

● Gen 4:25 . . And Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a
son, and named him Seth, for, she said: God has appointed me another offspring in
place of Abel; for Cain killed him.

Seth's name in Hebrew basically means a substitute, defined by Webster's as a
person or thing that takes the place or function of another; e.g. substitute teachers,
generic medications, pinch hitters, and/or after-market car parts.

Apparently Eve was still anticipating that she herself would be the woman to give
birth to the man promised by God to defeat the Serpent. (Gen 3:15)
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● Gen 4:26a . . And to Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh.

Sometimes the record shows the mother naming a child, and sometimes the father;
which suggests that in all cases there was very likely mutual consultation between
husband and wife on this important decision. But it's always important for the
father to take a hand in naming the children because the act testifies that he
legally, and officially, accepts them as his own. (e.g. Gen 16:15, Gen 21:3, Luke
1:13, Luke 1:63)

NOTE: God instructed both Joseph and Mary to give her baby the name Jesus (Matt
1:21, Luke 1:31). By doing so, both went on record as Jesus' parents rather than
only his mom. (Luke 2:48, Matt 13:55)

The name Enosh means a mortal, i.e. a man in general, singly or collectively.
There's really nothing special about an enosh-- just a feller: similar to boys named
Guy or Buddy.

● Gen 4:26b . .Then men began to call on the name of The Lord.

The Hebrew word for "Lord" in this case is the four letter a tetragrammaton YHVH,
usually pronounced Jehovah and/or Yahweh; and always, without exception,
identifies the one true divinity.

Apparently up to this point in time, people addressed God in a sort of general way
instead of a personal way, and some still do. For example; during the Native
American funeral service held for my No.1 nephew, a tribal elder prayed to God as
"Grandfather" rather than by a personal moniker like Ganesha or some such.

● Gen 5:1a . .This is the record of Adam's line.

The Bible doesn't give a complete record of Adam's line, but every human being
named in the Bible is for sure Adam's posterity; which actually began with Eve, but
women are typically omitted: not always, but usually.

● Gen 5:1b-2 . .When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God; male
and female He created them. And when they were created, He blessed them and
called them Man.

As a preamble to Seth's line, Genesis reminds the reader that Man's origin was by
intelligent design and special creation, and that he was made in the likeness of his
maker, and that he's been an h.sapiens right from the get go. Man didn't begin his
existence as some sort of pre-human hominid named Ardi who lived in Ethiopia's
Afar Rift some 4.4 million years ago.

Some people take issue with Genesis because it seems to them so unscientific and
contrary to the (known) fossil record. But they need to be cautious because science
doesn't have perfect understanding of everything yet, nor has it discovered
everything there is to discover, and it often has to be revised to reflect new
discoveries, and to correct outdated theories and opinions.

But to be fair, Bible students don't know everything yet either so I would advise
watching the sciences for new discoveries that help fill in some of the Bible's
blanks.

● Gen 5:3a . .When Adam had lived 130 years, he begot a son

Bible genealogies often have very large gaps in them-- omitting insignificant male
siblings and typically all the girls. In one instance (1Chron 1:1) the record skips
Abel and jumps directly to Seth.

Taking advantage of this rather strange Bible practice; critics are quick to point out
gaps in Christ's genealogy with the intent of invalidating the entire New Testament.
But gaps are to be expected or otherwise the list would be cumbersome and require
a book all its own. For example; a sizeable quantity of time passed between Noah's
ark and the arrival of Abraham on the scene; and probably a couple of ice ages too.
We're talking about a lot of generations there, and naming them all to a man would
be just as useless as it would be impractical.

● Gen 5:3b . . in his likeness after his image, and he named him Seth.

The best application for "likeness and image" that I've discovered thus far is as a
technical term related to kin: physical and/or non physical. For example; in the
beginning God made Man in His own image and likeness. However; Man bears no
physical resemblance to God at all. Adam exclaimed that Eve was bone of his bone
and flesh of his flesh, and she was; but God is neither-- God is spirit whereas Man
is physical and can be examined and defined by the laws of physics; whereas God
cannot be gone over like that.
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● Gen 5:4-5 . . After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and begot sons and
daughters. All the days that Adam lived came to 930 years; then he died.

Well, there goes grandpa Adam, just as God predicted at Gen 3:19. But hey?
Where's the listing of the rest of his kids? Didn't God bless him with the words "be
fruitful, increase in number, and fill the earth". Well, I seriously doubt that he and
Eve stopped after just three kids. But the rest of his progeny-- for reasons I can
only guess --didn't make the cut.

But when did Eve die? Did she outlive Adam? Who died first, Adam or Eve? Nobody
really knows. But supposing Eve died quite a while before Adam? Did he remarry?
And if he remarried, who did he marry? One of his own grandchildren?

Well . . in Adam's case, what's so bad about that? I mean, after all, his first wife
was constructed from the organic tissues of his own body; so that in reality, Eve
was his first child which means that by today's social standards; Adam practiced
the worst kind of incest. At least his grandkids would have been several times
removed.

● Gen 5:6-7 . .When Seth had lived 105 years, he begot Enosh. After the birth of
Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and begot sons and daughters.

No doubt some people envy the longevity of the antediluvians; but I don't. Their life
was hard, and for the most part, pretty boring too. Would you want to live for 912
years in pre historic conditions without a single modern convenience? Not me.

Was Enosh the first of Seth's children? Maybe, but probably not. However, he is the
only child that counts because it's through him that we're moving towards Noah;
and ultimately Abraham, David, and their progeny Messiah.

● Gen 5:8 . . All the days of Seth came to 912 years; then he died.

(sigh) The story of our futile lives. So and So was born, he got married and
reproduced; he lived X number of years after that, and then died-- same O, same O
--the weary circle of life.

* If people were immortal, global population would increase significantly. For
example here in the USA, the current birth rate is roughly 10,800 per 24 hours and
the death rate is 7,854 per 24 hours, resulting in a net gain of 2,945 which is only
27% of what it could be had Adam not tasted the forbidden fruit.

● Gen 5:9 . .When Enosh had lived 90 years, he begot Kenan.

Kenan's name in Hebrew means fixed or permanent like when somebody's life is a
dead end and/or when their feet are set in concrete, i.e. it is what it is; which is
kind of pessimistic. Fixed can also mean that someone's life has a noble purpose
and that their mind is focused upon that purpose rather than looking two ways at
once.

● Gen 5:10 . . After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and begot sons and
daughters.

You know, some of these guys really didn't accomplish very much. All they seemed
to do was reproduce. But the important thing is: they made a line to Messiah and,
as is the duty of patriarchs, preserved whatever sacred teachings were handed
down from their fathers.

● Gen 5:11 . . All the days of Enosh came to 905 years; then he died.

(yawn) Over and over again. Just about everybody reproduces in chapter five. And
just about everybody dies too.

● Gen 5:12-20 . .When Kenan had lived 70 years, he begot Mahalalel. After the
birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and begot sons and daughters. All the
days of Kenan came to 910 years; then he died. When Mahalalel had lived 65
years, he begot Jared. After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and begot
sons and daughters. All the days of Mahalalel came to 895 years; then he died.

. . .When Jared had lived 162 years, he begot Enoch. After the birth of Enoch, Jared
lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Jared came to 962
years; then he died.

Four of those men-- Enoch, Jared, Mahalalel, and Kenan (Cainan) --are listed in
Christ's genealogy at Luke 3:37-38.
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● Gen 5:21 . .When Enoch had lived 65 years, he begot Methuselah.

Methuselah's name is a compound word made up of math (math) which means an
adult (as of full length or full size), and shelach (sheh'-lakh) which means a missile
of attack, i.e. a spear, sling stone, or perhaps an arrow. Methuselah was a man-size
weapon rather than one that might be employed by little children.

Today our preferred missile of attack from a hand held weapon is the bullet. A
Methuselah bullet would probably be known today as a magnum. Magnums cost
more than normal ammo but hit harder, go further, and cause more damage
(they're louder too). A modern name that might correspond to Methuselah is Long
Tom-- a nickname often given to very large canons. Maybe they meant to call him
Big Guy because he was such a heavy newborn.

● Gen 5:22-23 . . After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years;
and he begot sons and daughters. All the days of Enoch came to 365 years.

Enoch was a fiery preacher, speaking the words recorded in Jude 1:14-15; warning
people prior to the Flood that Almighty God intends to hold people's feet to the fire
some day.

● Gen 5:24a . . Enoch walked with God;

Enoch was the exact opposite of Abel's brother Cain: he walked with God rather
than away from God.

This is the very first man on record who is actually said to have walked with God;
though no doubt Abel did too.

Those who are outwardly religious, but don't actually walk with God, might be wise
to give this next little saying some thought.

Ye call me Lord and respect me not.
Ye call me Master and obey me not.
Ye call me Light and see me not.
Ye call me Way and walk me not.
Ye call me Life and choose me not.
Ye call me Wise and heed me not.
Ye call me Kind and love me not.
Ye call me Just and fear me not.
If I condemn thee, blame me not.

On the page of Scripture, Enoch isn't said to walk with God until after his little boy
Methuselah was born; suggesting perhaps that parenthood gave him cause to
ponder his manner of life thus far.

● Gen 5:24b . . then he was no more, because God took him away.

The Hebrew word translated "no more" is primarily a negative indicating that one
minute Enoch was on earth, and the next he wasn't.

It's difficult to ascertain from so little information in the book of Genesis whether
Enoch died of natural causes or the hand of God; but according to Heb 11:5, he
didn't undergo death at all but was instantaneously transferred from this life to the
next; apparently leaving behind no remains for his family to bury.

It's assumed by many that Enoch was taken to heaven; but according to Christ; no
man had been to heaven prior to himself. (John 3:13)

● Gen 5:25-27 . .When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he begot Lamech. After the
birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and begot sons and daughters. All the
days of Methuselah came to 969 years; then he died.

Ol' Methuselah holds the record for longevity. He outlived his son Lamech, dying
five years after him in the very year the Flood came; when Methuselah's grandson
Noah was 600.

Whether or not Methuselah died in the Flood or by natural causes is not said.
However, he may indeed have perished in it right along with all of the rest of
Noah's relatives. Just because men are listed in Messiah's genealogy doesn't
necessarily mean they were righteous. In point of fact, some of David's kings in
Jesus' line were totally incorrigible men beyond remedy. (e.g. Jer 22:24-30)
_

 

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● Gen 5:28-29 . .When Lamech had lived 182 years, he begot a son. And he named
him Noah, saying: This one will provide us relief from our work and from the toil of
our hands, out of the very soil which the Lord placed under a curse.

The Hebrew word for "Noah" means: rest or quiet. But not the kind of quiet one
might find in a sound-proof room. More like the tranquility a person would
experience by getting away from it all, e.g. anxiety, fear, conflict, and toil.

Lamech speaks as one fatigued with the business of living, and as one grudging
that so much energy, which otherwise might have been much better employed in
leisure, entertainment, or self improvement, was unavoidably spent in toil and labor
necessary simply to survive back in that day.

Lamech undoubtedly saw that Noah was a very special boy; the next patriarch after
himself. Perhaps he hoped Noah was the promised seed of the woman; the one who
would crush the Serpent's head, remove the curse, and restore the Earth to its
former prosperity and glory; thus making for Man a much more enjoyable
experience than the one he is subjected to for now.

● Gen 5:30-32 . . After the birth of Noah, Lamech lived 595 years and begot sons
and daughters. All the days of Lamech came to 777 years; then he died. When
Noah had lived 500 years, Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Lamech escaped the Flood by a mere 5 years. It came when Noah was 600 (Gen
7:6).

Shem was the next patriarch after his dad Noah. But the names of all three boys
are given probably because of the role they will play in re-populating the Earth after
the Flood. The Bible doesn't say that Shem, Ham, and Japheth were especially good
men. They survived the Flood in spite of their character only because they got
aboard the ark with their dad when it was time for the rain to begin. If they had
mocked, and remained on land with the rest of the world, then they would have
certainly drowned right along with everyone else in spite of their ancestry.

So; were Mr and Mrs Noah childless until Noah was 500 years old? Probably not.
The other kids, if there were any, didn't count as far as God was concerned, and, if
there were any, they perished in the deluge.

NOTE: Being related to holy men like rabbis, pastors, deacons and/or missionaries
etc doesn't guarantee a ticket to safety. Everyone has to make their own personal
decisions in that regard (e.g. Gen 19:12-14). God commands all people everywhere
to repent. The alternative is the sum of all fears no matter how important, nor well
connected, your friends, associates, and/or relatives might be.
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● Gen 6:1-2 . . Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the
land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the
daughters of men were good; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they
chose.

The Hebrew word translated "good" is one of a number of ambiguous Hebrew words
that can be utilized in a wide variety of applications. It can indicate morality, a tasty
meal, a job well done, a nice man, a pretty dress, a shapely woman and/or a
handsome man, and an expert musician and/or a really groovy song. But in this
case; I think it's pretty safe to assume it pertains to a woman's looks.

NOTE: Ambiguous words serve to illustrate why it's virtually impossible to translate
Hebrew into English with 100% verbatim precision. No linguist in his right mind
would dare to say that English versions of the Hebrew Old Testament are perfect
word-for word renditions of the original manuscripts-- no; they can't even be
certified perfect word-for-word renditions of the available manuscripts let alone the
originals.

The characteristics of the "sons of God" have been debated. Some say they were
members of the aristocracy of that day who married attractive women from among
the commoners. Others say they were renegade spirit creatures who donned fully
functioning human avatars-- replete with synthetic male genomes --so they could
cohabit with women; thus producing a hybrid strain of hominid freaks. Others say
they were God-fearing men who threw caution to the wind and built themselves
harems of humanistic women who believed and practiced existential philosophies.

The latter seems the more likely seeing as how intermarriage between believers
and unbelievers is often frowned upon in both the Old Testament and the New.

* The label "son of God" is somewhat ambiguous in the Old Testament. For
example in Job 1:6 & Job 38:7 it pertains to angels, whereas in Ex 4:22-23 an
entire people are identified as God's son, and in Psalm 82 authorities are sons of
God, while in Psalm 89 king David is God's son.

Hooking up men of faith with infidel women is a proven tactic for watering down,
compromising, and even extinguishing Bible beliefs and practices (e.g. Num 31:7
16). The people of God are strictly, unequivocally, and clearly forbidden to marry
outside their faith. (Deut 7:1-4, 2Cor 6:14-18)

Women can be very effective in influencing an otherwise pious man to compromise
his convictions; for example Solomon got off to a good start but down the road
accumulated a harem of foreign women who led him into idolatry; which
subsequently caused The Lord to engineer rebellion in the kingdom. (1Kgs 11 & 12)

The sons of God in Noah's day-- whose wives were chosen based solely upon
sensual allure sans any spiritual prudence whatsoever --all perished in the Flood
right along with their infidel wives and children. Not even one of them had the good
sense to go aboard the ark with Noah.

● Gen 6:3a . .The Lord said: My Spirit shall not strive with man forever

Some translations have "abide" instead of strive. But the Hebrew word is diyn
(deen) which means: to rule; by implication: to judge (as umpire); also to strive
(as at law). It can also mean to plead the cause of; or to contend in argument.

So; how did "My Spirit" accomplish this striving with man? In person Himself? No;
just like He always has: via inspired men; e.g. Noah and Enoch. (2Pet 2:5 & Jude
1:14-15)

NOTE: According to 1Pet 3:18-20, the Spirit of Christ and My Spirit are one and the
same spirit. In point of fact; according to 1Pet 1:10-11, all the Old Testament
preachers (a..k.a. prophets) were motivated by the Spirit of Christ. (cf. Rom 8:9
and 1Cor 6:19 where the Spirit of Christ and The Spirit are seen as one and the
same spirit)

● Gen 6:3b . . for they are only mortal flesh.

A problem with flesh is it's brevity. The human body eventually loses its vigor, so
God has a limited amount of time to work with people before they pass on.

"Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?" (Zech
1:5)

Were our bodies immune to the aging process, God would have plenty of time to
turn people around; but alas, without access to the tree of life, such is not the case.
_

 

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● Gen 6:3c . . yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.

Some feel that God set the limits of human longevity in that verse. But people still
continued to live long lives for a great number of years afterwards. Even Abraham,
who lived many, many years after the Flood, didn't die till he was 175 years old.

It's far more reasonable to conclude that God was announcing a deadline; viz: they
had 120 years left to get ready to meet their maker. But you think that alarmed
anybody? Heck no. They went right on; business as usual.

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the
day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." (Luke
17:26-27)

The time of God's patience is sometimes long; but never unlimited; viz: though God
bear a great while, He never bears forever; for example:

"Today, if you hear is voice, do not harden your hearts as [Moses' people] did at
Meribah, as they did that day at Massah in the desert, where their fathers tested
and tried Me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with
that generation. I said; "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have
not known my ways." So I declared on oath in My anger; "They shall never enter
My rest." ( Ps 95:7-11)

NOTE: The "My rest" spoken of in that passage is related to God's sabbatical per
Gen 2:1-3 which is a perpetual variety of rest. In other words: had Moses' people
invaded the promised land when God ordered them to, they would never lose control
of it and would forever be blessed with security and prosperity.

● Gen 6:4 . .There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward,
when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to
them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

One of the Bible's Hebrew words for "giant" is rapha' which appears in numerous
places throughout the Old Testament and typically always indicates brutish people
of large physical stature. But that's not the word for giants here. Instead it's ha
nepihilym which appears in only two verses in the entire Old Testament; one here
and the other in Numbers 13:33.

The word is somewhat ambiguous, but in this context it pertains to bullies:
especially to men famous for tyranny; e.g. Genghis Khan of Mongolia, and
Alexander the Great of Greece; Napoleon of France, Peter Alekseyevich Romanov of
Russia, Chandragupta Maurya of India, shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo of Japan,
conquistador Hernando Cortes of Spain, Timur: founder of the Timurid dynasty, and
Zahir-ud din Muhammad Babur: founder of the Mughal dynasty that ruled the
Indian subcontinent for over three centuries; and of course guys like Adolf Hitler,
Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Mao Tse-tung, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin,
Robert Mugabe, Muammar Gaddafi, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un.

In other words: ha-nepihilyhm doesn't necessarily indicate a unique race of people;
but mostly strong personalities, i.e. especially bullies whose ambition is to quite
dominate others, i.e. despots, dictators, and tyrants, etc. Those kinds of people
don't just want power: they want to own your soul, censor your information, and
control the content of your thoughts.

Men (and women) who seek to dominate others are often the least suitable to do
so; and back there in Noah's day that was certainly true. The moral quality of the
world built by the governance of the ha-nepihilym was so poor that the situation
required God to step in and do something about it.
_

 

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● Gen 6:5 . . And The Lord saw that the evil of man was great in the earth, and
every imagination of his heart was only evil all the time.

Thus far it appears that the wide-spread proliferation of evil among men was due,
at least in part, to the mixed marriages.

Man's descent into depravity didn't catch his creator by surprise. After all; not only
can God see the future but He can also manipulate it; so He was well aware even
before beginning that the people He was about to create would become degenerate.

● Gen 6:6 . . And The Lord regretted that He had made man upon the earth, and
He became grieved in His heart.

If it can be safely assumed that God saw man's depravity coming well in advance--
prior to creating even one of the many forces, energies, and particles that would go
into the construction of the cosmos --then we have to wonder why it is that He felt
remorse for going ahead as planned. Surely it wasn't because He made a terrible
mistake. I seriously doubt that a master architect with the creator's intelligence
would fail to foresee every possible ramification of His actions.

Well; it's at least comforting to know the destruction of life is not something God
enjoys as if He were an outdoor guy who kills fish and wildlife for sport with no
more sensitivity than a kid blasting aliens in a video game. Man's creator knew the
day was coming when He would have to do what He was about to do next, and
clearly wasn't looking forward to it, but nevertheless; leaves us with unavoidable
questions about His sanity because from a rational perspective, God's procedures
make no sense at all.

Anyway, aside from all that; it appears to me that God had high expectations for
the people of man, and was very disappointed that numbers of them went bad; sort
of like how parents feel when a kid, whom they've given every privilege, every
opportunity, and every advantage imaginable, lets it all go overboard and somehow
ends up incorrigible and a total failure instead.

NOTE: The Hebrew word translated "regret" is somewhat ambiguous. Though it
includes feeling rue for making a mistake, it also implies taking an unpleasant
course of action that you know will cause people harm and/or inconvenience though
for sure the course is the wise thing to do.

For example: God was poised to destroy the city of Nineveh lest they changed their
ways. Within that city were 120,000 underage children, and numbers of beasts,
that would've been collateral damage had not the adults heeded Jonah's preaching.

God impressed upon Jonah that He would not take pleasure in destroying those
children, nor those beasts. However, God would have done so because it was the
wise thing to do.

I cannot even begin to imagine how it was wise (or right) for God to go ahead and
create mankind while knowing well in advance that they would go bad and He
would have to kill off just about everything-- birds, beasts, men, women, and
underage children too.

From a purely rational perspective, the Judeo/Christian God is fiendish. I mean
think about it: why would a sensible designer proceed to bring into existence,
without their consent, human lives whom he knew in advance that some day He
would have to destroy most of them like when destroying a dog infected with
rabies.

For example: the creator knew in advance that if He went ahead as planned, the
end result would be the termination of untold numbers of terrified people not only
in a Flood, but also in the brimstone depicted by Rev 20:10-15.

It's a mystery, and people brighter and better educated than I have thus far been
unable to figure it out. Some make excuses for God (a.k.a. apologetics) instead of
coming to grips with the reality that we're all little more than an insect zoo: just
bugs imprisoned in a terrarium constructed for the supreme being's amusement.

"O Lord our God . . you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they
exist and were created." (Rev 4:11)
_

 

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● Gen 6:7 . . And The Lord said: I will blot out man, whom I created, from upon the
face of the earth, from man to cattle to creeping thing, to the fowl of the heavens,
for I regret that I made them.

The destruction of earth's birds and beasts was unavoidable; they became collateral
damage in God's contention with the evil antediluvians.

Apparently God intended to not only remove the antediluvians from the face of the
earth, but also to scrub off all of their works too-- i.e. their entire cultural footprint
--so that when He was done, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to even be
able to tell the antediluvians were ever here at all.

It's always been a mystery to me why paleo-anthropologists have managed to find
so few fossilized remains of pre-historic human beings.

In 1992, Tim White of the University of California at Berkeley, discovered the
fossilized skeletons of human-like creatures in Ethiopia's Afar Rift who lived 4.4
million years ago but those are not the remains of h.sapiens; but rather, of beasts
that resemble h.sapiens. To my knowledge; no truly human remains have been
found from that era.

While mysterious; that lack of remains isn't exclusive. Take for instance the
Passenger Pigeon; a bird that at one time numbered an estimated four to five
billion individuals; which is a number equal in quantity to the current year-round
population of all North American birds combined. Yet an archeological search for the
pigeon's bones left behind by people who ate the bird for food, through all pre
Columbian times, has thus far yielded very few remains; at only two sites.

But my point is: where are the remains of the antediluvians? They're gone; lock,
stock, and barrel-- no metal implements from Tubal-Cain's blacksmith shop, no
musical instruments from Jubal's work shop, no dwellings, no footprints, no bones,
no pottery, no pictographs, no petro glyphs, not even any geological evidence of a
world-wide deluge: nothing. It's like they were never here.

God moved against the antediluvians like a relentless newspaper editor deleting
superfluous words and sentences so skillfully that the reader cannot even tell those
superfluous words and sentences ever existed in the original copy.

Why would God do that? I would hazard to guess that His purpose in doing so was
to prevent people from believing too easily that the Flood actually happened.

A curious thing about the Bible is that portions of it are just as effective at driving
people away from God as they are at attracting them. No doubt it is God's wishes
that everybody believe the Bible; but at the same time it seems He's thwarted His
own longings by taking steps to ensure that a substantial number of people don't.
For example:

"Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: You have seen all that The Lord did
before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his3
land; the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders.
Yet to this day The Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor
ears to hear." (Deut 29:2-4)

● Gen 6:8 . . But Noah found favor with The Lord.

The Hebrew word translated favor is chen (khane) and means graciousness;
defined by Webster's as kind, courteous, inclined to good will, generous, charitable,
merciful, altruistic, compassionate, thoughtful, cordial, affable, genial, sociable,
cheerful, warm, sensitive, considerate, and tactful.

The New Testament's Greek word for grace means pretty much the same.

In a nutshell; grace is what you'd expect from someone who wants the best for you
which, when in someone's eyes, is quite a bit nicer than the eyes of someone who
looks at you with knives.
_

 

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● Gen 6:9a . .This is the line of Noah. --Noah was a righteous man;

The Hebrew word translated "righteous" means: just.

Webster's provides several definitions of "just", but perhaps the ones best suited
for our purpose are: conscientious, honest, honorable, right, scrupulous, true,
dependable, reliable, tried, trustworthy, dispassionate, equal, equitable, impartial,
nondiscriminatory, objective, unbiased, uncolored, and unprejudiced. So then, Noah
was not only religious to his fingertips; but he was a pretty decent guy to boot.

● Gen 6:9b . . he was blameless in his era; Noah walked with God.

Blameless in the Bible means something altogether different than what you'd
expect. In this case, "blameless" means that God had nothing negative to say about
Noah; i.e. on the books, Noah's performance was satisfactory, i.e. he measured up
to God's expectations. How is that possible? Well; if God chooses not to record your
badness, then the only thing remaining to record is your goodness.

This is a very important aspect of not just Old Testament piety, but New Testament
too.

"God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses
against them" (2Cor 5:19)

The Greek word translated "counting" is basically means to take an inventory; i.e.
an indictment. 2Cor 5:19 is quite an advantage because when there is nothing bad
on the books, then there is nothing that can in any way be used to prove that
somebody has ever been anything less than 100% innocent; i.e. blameless. This
may seem like cooking the books, but God has a way to do it on the up and up.

NOTE: Too often Supreme Court judges-- the State level and the US level --are
unjust; viz: they're biased, partial, partisan, and prejudiced; and that's because
seldom, if ever, are they nominated on the basis of their objectivity; rather, they're
typically nominated primarily on the basis of their politics.

God highly recommended Noah, but it's doubtful Noah would ever be considered for
a federal judgeship let alone America's supreme.

The most incredible thing about Noah was his degree of piety in a world gone mad
with evil. He was actually a nobody in his day; eclipsed by the nephiyl types. They
got all the press, the publicity, and the notoriety while God's man went
marginalized and largely ignored. Yet he persisted; and continued pounding a pulpit
right up to the end.

● Gen 6:10 . . Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Were those the only kids Noah had? And no daughters? I seriously doubt it. Noah
was six hundred when the flood began. It is unlikely that a healthy, hard working,
robust man would live that long without engendering a much larger family than
three; especially in those days without birth control. But these three boys are the
only ones that count now because they're going on the ark with their dad.

● Gen 6:11a . .The earth became corrupt before God;

Technically, this particular verse isn't saying the world became corrupt, rather, it's
speaking of the planet whereupon the people lived.

The Hebrew word translated "corrupt" speaks of ruin, decay, pollution, waste, and
destruction. In other words; the planet's human inhabitants were rapidly making
the Earth uninhabitable, just like they're doing even now. Were the people of that
day not stopped, they would've made the Earth unfit not just for human life, but for
all life.

The Hebrew word for "violence" covers a lot of ground-- cruelty, injustice, abuse,
dishonesty, fraud, injury, brutality, discord, etc. in other words: mistreatment.
_

 

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● Gen 6:11b . . the earth was filled with lawlessness.

At this particular point in time, Earth's occupants were on a sort of honor system.
As yet there were no God-given controls in place to regulate people's use of the
Earth's resources; nor anything God-given in place to regulate the people
themselves.

● Gen 6:12-13a . . God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people
on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah: I am going to put an end
to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.

That was indeed tragic. Things finally became so bad that the only way to save the
planet was to exterminate the people. Quite a few environmentalists are saying the
very same thing in our day.

The Hebrew word for "violence" covers a lot of ground-- cruelty, injustice, abuse,
dishonesty, fraud, injury, brutality, discord, etc. in other words: mistreatment.

* If there is anything Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl, and Fukushima have taught
us it's that we today have the capability to do the very thing that caused God
concern back in Noah's day; and we can do it quicker, and far more efficiently.

● Gen 6:13b . . I am about to destroy them with the earth.

Here is set a precedent of God forewarning His own when He is about to execute a
calamitous event. The Passover was another such example. God forewarned Moses'
people of the imminent annihilation of all the firstborn of Man and Beast in Egypt;
which would also impact Moses and his people if they didn't take precautions
exactly as God instructed. (Ex 11:1-13) Much of the book of Revelation is dedicated
to informing Christ's followers about some pretty serious future events. (Rev 1:1)

And our man Noah, super-duper righteous man that he was, would have drowned
right along with the rest of the antediluvians had he neglected to construct an ark.
When God gives a warning, it is best to respond accordingly.

"A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer
for it." (Prov 22:3)

● Gen 6:14a . . Make yourself an ark

The Hebrew word translated "ark" indicates, not a ship, but a nondescript box. The
only other object in the Old Testament identified by that word is the little watertight
container Moses' mom constructed to hide her little boy from Pharaoh's assassins.
(Ex 2:1-10)

● Gen 6:14b . . of gopher wood;

Nobody really knows for sure exactly what kind of tree Noah used to make the ark.
The word for "gopher" has nothing to do with little subterranean rodents. It's a
transliteration of the Hebrew word gopher (go'-fer) which only suggests a kind of
tree suitable for building structures out of wood. Some think it was cypress because
the wood of those trees is so resinous that it resists rotting even after prolonged
submersion in water. Others think it may have been cedar or spruce; which are
good too.

Noah would've needed some massive structural members so in my estimation;
Redwood-- a.k.a. Sequoia --would've been an excellent choice seeing as how the
wood is not only resistant to rot, but the trees themselves are typically very large
and yield huge quantities of lumber.

Unfortunately, this is the one and only occurrence of gopher in the entire Old
Testament so there's no other passages that might help identify a specific kind of
tree.
_

 

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● Gen 6:14c . . make it an ark with compartments,

The word for "compartments" basically means: a nest (as fixed), sometimes
including the nestlings; figuratively, a chamber or dwelling. The construction of
nests (and stalls) indicates the animals weren't just herded or jammed together like
the crowds attending an outdoor rock concert. They were neatly stowed aboard in
their own areas and apparently made to feel quite comfortable.

● Gen 6:14d . . and cover it inside and out with pitch.

The Hebrew word translated "pitch" in his case basically pertains to bitumen; a
naturally-occurring kind of asphalt formed from the remains of ancient, microscopic
algae (diatoms) and other once-living things.

In order for bitumen to be available in Noah's day, the organisms from whence it
was formed had to have existed on the earth several thousands of years before
him. In point of fact, I read somewhere that the biomass that gave us fossil fuels
existed even before the dinosaurs. That's really going back a ways.

Coating the ark with bitumen not only served to waterproof it; but also preserved
the wood for future uses after the Flood subsided and Noah no longer had need of a
titanic water craft.

● Gen 6:15a . .This is how you shall make it:

What if Noah had some ideas of his own? Would that have been alright? No; when
God says "you shall" and/or "you shall not" then that's the law.

Some object that since paper and writing were not yet invented in Noah's day, then
God couldn't possible have provided him with plans for the ark. But even a
pictograph, or a petro glyph, would've sufficed.

Other skeptics object that a wooden vessel the size of Noah's ark couldn't be built
because the timbers required for its structural strength would have been so
massive that Noah would never have managed to assemble its pieces and parts.

But ancient craftsmen were far more ingenious than most people living today
realize. For example, nobody yet has really figured out how the Egyptians built the
pyramids nor how the people of Easter Island cut, carved, and moved all those big
stone heads around. And those aren't the only projects to mystify us. There are
ancient stone structures around the world-- e.g. Stonehenge --that seem
impossible to be erected by human hands prior to the age of heavy industrial
machinery; but nevertheless, there they are.

And not to forget that Noah's God was in the project. Since that's the case, it's not
unreasonable to assume God also provided Noah the tools necessary to complete
the task He assigned; and very, very possibly chipped in to help out with the
construction too. When people fail to factor in God, they invariably end up
mystified. To this day scientists are baffled about the origin of the cosmos, with all
of its life, matter, and energy, because they refuse to factor intelligent design into
their thinking.

How did Noah cut the logs that went into constructing the ark? Well; according to
the Bible, Cain's people were proficient with metals. If nothing else; it's probably
pretty certain that Noah had at least a metal hammer and an axe; maybe several
metal hammers and axes; and quite possibly saws and wedges too.

How did Noah join the logs and other wooden pieces that went into constructing the
ark? Well; you know, a good cabinet maker can assemble a very nice armoire
without using nuts and bolts by the strategic use of dowels and clever joinery like
grooves, rabbets, dovetails, mortises, and tenons.

Others object that a wooden vessel the size of the ark would never hold up on the
open sea without steel reinforcement; especially when the super storm of Gen 8:1
began blowing to mop up the water. But again; those skeptics typically fail to factor
God's involvement in the Flood. You really think He left the only surviving humans
and the only surviving beasts on the whole planet to the mercy of the elements?

The Flood was a miraculous event that worked by manipulating the laws of nature.
With God's involvement, even a house of cards would've survived the Flood had He
wished it to because the strength of natural materials isn't fixed; they can be
greatly enhanced, e.g. Samson (Judg 13:2-16:31). He was just an ordinary man of
flesh and bone; but God made Samson strong enough to do things that no one man
alone could possibly attempt unassisted.
_

 

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● Gen 6:15b . . the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty
cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

There was a cubit among the Babylonians, and one in Egypt too. But there seems
to have existed double standards in both countries. Because of that, there exists no
undisputed example of the cubit that remains to the present time; so the length of
the cubit has been variously estimated.

One of the ancient cubits was the length of a man's forearm, from the elbow to the
tip of the middle finger, as is implied from the derivation of the word in Hebrew and
from the Latin cubitum. It seems to be referred to also in Deut 3:11 as "after the
cubit of a man." But that's too vague, and unsuitable for a scientific standard
because not all men's arms are exactly alike.

The Babylonians employed two different cubits: the so-called royal cubit and the
common cubit. From the remains of buildings in Assyria and Babylonia, the royal
cubit is made out to be about 20.6 inches. A cubit of similar length was used in
Egypt. This was probably the cubit mentioned by Ezk 40:5 and possibly that of
Solomon's temple as "cubits after the first measure" (2 Chr 3:3)

The commercial cubit was shorter, and has been variously estimated at between 16
and 18 inches or more, but the evidence of the Siloam inscription and of the tombs
in Palestine seems to indicate 17.6 inches as the average length. This was the cubit
of six palms, while the longer one was of seven (Ezk 40:5). The cubit mentioned in
Judges 3:16 is from a different word, the Hebrew gomedh, and was probably
shorter.

The cubit of Noah's day remains a total mystery. We have no way of knowing
exactly how long it was. Maybe Noah and his boys passed on their antediluvian
knowledge of weights and measures to the post-flood world and it stayed pretty
close to the original standards over the years; but it's impossible to know for sure.

If we use an 18-inch cubit as a close approximation, then the ark would have been
in the neighborhood of 450' long x 75' wide x 45' high. The ark's beam was 30 feet
wider than its height, so should have proved very stable, and difficult to capsize
even in rough seas-- especially since it had a flat bottom, which was good too for
the purpose intended.

Nothing fancy. Since the ark didn't have to navigate; then it didn't require a means
of propulsion nor was there any practical use for a bow, or a stern, or a wheel
house, a rudder, sails, engine room, anchor, windlasses, or masts-- not even a
handrail around the main deck. Since the ark didn't have to cut through the water
like a schooner, then it didn't need tapered undersides. All the ark really had to do
was float. It was really nothing in the world but a barge: and a very crude barge at
that. Really little more than a very large watertight crate.

Compared to modern ships, 450 feet is not all that big. Oil tankers are around
1,500, and the Nimitz aircraft carrier is about 1,092 feet. The distance from home
plate to the center field fence in major league baseball, averages 400 feet or better.
So the ark would just about fit into Yankee stadium. The main playing area of a
football field is 300 feet. Add 26 more for the end zones, and the total is 326; which
is still 124 feet short of the ark's length but at least gives some idea of its scale.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

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● Gen 6:16a . . Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and terminate it within a
cubit of the top.

The ark was probably capped with a steeply sloped roof so the immense volumes of
water falling from the sky during the rain stage of the Flood wouldn't impinge it
perpendicularly; but rather strike a glancing blow; and the eves were likely quite
considerable so water running off the roof wouldn't find its way to the window. The
window was shuttered (Gen 8:6) which was a practical consideration. The first forty
days of the Flood were extremely inclement; and later on down at the end of the
voyage there was a howling wind to reckon with.

The dimensions of the window aren't stated, and it's design is a bit of a mystery
because later we'll see that Noah was apparently unable to look out and see for
himself whether the ground was dry. It could have been as wide as six feet and
extended the full length and width of the ark-- all the way around it; who really
knows. The only requirement was that it be adequate for light; but undoubtedly
served for ventilation too. With all that respiration going on in there, Noah's air
supply would become foul in very short order.

● Gen 6:16b . . Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with bottom, second,
and third decks.

A hatch in the hull was practical. Its cover could be let down as a boarding ramp.

The very bottom of a ship is normally not counted as a deck. The lowest deck is
usually somewhat above the bottom and separated from it by a void called the
double bottom. That way if the actual bottom is pierced, the ship won't sink
because the void is sealed.

Whether or not Noah's craft had a double bottom is unknown; but likely it had at
least a bilge because the lowest deck needs to be above the bottom a bit so the
passengers and crew don't have to slosh around down there in the lower parts of
the ship where fetid water and other unsavory liquids typically collect.

The spaces between decks were fairly tall. If we divide 45 by 3 we get roughly 15
feet apiece not counting a bilge, nor the thickness of the deck planks and their
beams. Fifteen feet can accommodate pretty tall animals; and provide enough room
for the birds to exercise now and then too.

An ark 450 feet by 75 feet, with three decks would have provided 101,250 square
feet of living space. If Noah were resourceful, he might have installed shelves and
cabinets on the hull and the bulkheads, plus more on the overheads, and the
underside of the ark's roof for even more storage/living space. thus he would have
taken advantage of not just the ark's square feet; but also its cubic feet.

Critics insist there wasn't enough space aboard for all the various creatures in
Noah's day, but they fail to take into account a few facts. For one, nobody really
knows how long the cubit of Noah's day was and, most importantly, nobody really
knows how many species of life existed in his day.

By the time h.sapiens appeared on this old earth of ours, some colossal mass
extinctions had already taken place; and on top of that, the species that exist on
earth in our day, may not have existed in Noah's day, but instead what we are
seeing in our day is the result of millennia of somatic mutations and adaptations.

Larger creatures could have shared their spaces with smaller creatures, even
permitting the ones smaller than themselves to climb up and rest on their backs.
Life finds a way.

They say there are seven wonders of the ancient world, but that is not quite
accurate. There's actually eight if we include Noah's ark. Sure, building a giant
floating barn like Noah's would be child's play for a modern shipyard like Northrop
Grumman Newport News; but in his day, it had to be quite a feat.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● Gen 6:17 . . For My part, I am about to bring the Flood-- waters upon the earth--
to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is breath of life; everything on
earth shall perish.

Some think the Flood was merely a local event rather than a global deluge. But that
is not the way Genesis describes it. The author quotes God saying; to destroy "all
flesh under the sky" and: "everything on earth" shall perish.

If the Flood were to be local, then it would only be necessary for Noah and his
family and the animals to simply migrate to a different region rather than go to all
the trouble of building an ark. No. The idea of localized flooding is totally
unacceptable because "the sky" is everywhere.

Ironically, and perhaps even humorously, many of the people arguing for a
localized Flood are convinced it's a myth anyway so I have no clue where they see
the point of arguing its extent.

The Hebrew word translated "waters" is a plural noun that can be used either in a
plural sense as here in Gen 6:17, or in a singular sense as in Gen 21:14.

Were the waters of the Flood fresh or salt? It doesn't matter, since the one who
created the physical requirements of all life is easily able to adapt it to suit His
purposes. But the sea's saltiness isn't static; it's increasing all the time, and always
has. Which means that if you were to go back in time, the sea was a lot less salty in
Noah's day than it is today; ergo: aquatic life's adjustment to dilution back in his
day wouldn't have been as extreme as its adjustment would be in our day.

● Gen 6:18 . . But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter the
ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives.

Biblical covenants are legally-binding contracts; and may include stipulations for all
parties involved; and then again may stipulate responsibilities for only one of them
with the other simply being along for the benefit; sort of like an irrevocable trust.
Covenants may, or may not, include penalties for breach of contract; and
sometimes those penalties are very severe; e.g. Lev 26:3-38, Deut 27:15-26, and
Deut 28:1-69.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● Gen 6:19-20 . . And of all that lives, of all flesh, you shall take two of each into
the ark to keep alive with you; they shall be male and female. From birds of every
kind, cattle of every kind, every kind of creeping thing on earth, two of each shall
come to you to stay alive.

Apparently one pair of each kind was a minimum; I mean; Noah took four pairs of
humans aboard; and he was later given updated instructions to take seven pairs of
some species.

Fortunately Noah didn't have to go on safari to round up his passengers. The Bible
says two of each "shall come to you." which implies of course that species who
failed to come got left behind and died in the Flood.

There was plenty of time for them to make it because Noah was 120 years building
the ark and getting it ready. Since the animals selected were cooperative and
docile, then the smaller beasties could hitch rides on the larger ones and thus save
themselves some steps.

A man named Dave Kunst walked across today's world in just a little over 4 years
from June 1970 to October 1974. Kunst walked a total of 14,450 miles, crossing
four continents and thirteen countries, wearing out 21 pair of shoes, and walking
more than 20 million steps. That was an odd thing to do, but does prove it can be
done in a relatively short time; so 120 years was plenty enough for all the critters
to make it on over to Noah's place in time for the Folly's maiden voyage.

If the ark were to launch in 2023, critters would have been on the move towards it
since 1903-- same year as the Wright Brothers historical flight, and nine years
before the Titanic foundered --and probably reproduced many times along the way
since there are not all that many species that live to see 120 years of age.

But how did they cross oceans? In the past that was doubtless a thorny theological
problem. But with today's knowledge of the geological science of plate tectonics,
the answer is as simple as two plus two. Scientists have discovered that continental
land masses can be shifted, and in point of fact the dry parts brought so close
together as to form one single super continent.

Scientists have also discovered magma hot spots and pressure points that can raise
and lower the earth's crust like a service elevator. Subduction no doubt played a
role by pushing sea beds up above sea level and made to form land bridges; thus
expediting migration.

This idea is by no means novel. For example: ten miles off the coast of Alabama in
60 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico, are the remains of a Bald Cypress grove
that's estimated to be eight to fourteen thousand years old; testifying that the
earth's topography was quite a bit different in the ancient past.

Actually the Earth's mantle is one continuous (albeit fractured) mass anyway,
although its profile is so irregular that dry land sticks up above sea level at various
high spots; which is a good thing because if the mantle were smooth, the world
would be quite flooded all the time. In point of fact, if the Earth's mantle were
perfectly smooth, like a billiard ball, there's enough water present even today to
cover the land to a depth of 9,000 feet of water. That would be equivalent to a
global ocean approximately 1.7 miles deep.

Normal geological processes take thousands of years to accomplish, but when you
factor in the creator's participation in the Flood event, it's no problem at all for the
supreme being who has absolute power over not just the earth's geological
processes; but all the rest of nature's processes too.

What about dinosaurs? Did they go aboard with Noah too? No; too late.
Paleontologists are pretty sure the Jurassic era was over and gone by means of a
mysterious mass extinction event several millennia before the entrance of human
life on the earth; which, in my layman's opinion, is pretty good proof that the six
"days" of creation were quite a bit greater in length than 24 hours apiece.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● Gen 6:21-22 . . For your part, take of everything that is eaten and store it away,
to serve as food for you and for them. Noah did so; just as God commanded him,
so he did.

God didn't specify precisely how much food to load aboard. He only instructed Noah
to store things that are edible; but not their quantity. Nobody can be sure whether
or not Noah knew just how long the Flood was going to last. If he didn't, then of
course he would have no idea how much food he needed to bring along.

So what about the carnivorous animals that came aboard with Noah-- the lions and
tigers and hawks and eagles and meerkats and alligators and crocodiles? Well;
those kinds of animals can live on vegetation when they have to. According to Isa
11:6-9 and Isa 65:25, there's a day coming when the diet of carnivores will be
changed to that of herbivores; which was actually their diet in the first place. (Gen
1:30)

Some have proposed that the animals hibernated so they wouldn't have to be fed
very often nor require much room for exercise nor would they generate much
manure to clean up. That's actually a very plausible explanation. For example:
arctic ground squirrels can lower their body temperature below freezing and avoid
serious head injuries while hibernating for as long seven months. Why the little
guys don't freeze to death is a mystery.

Others have proposed that Noah loaded a minimal amount that God then
miraculously sustained. That too is a very plausible explanation. For example: 1Kgs
17:8-16 & 2Kgs 4:1-7

I'm not insisting that God sustained everyone aboard the ark via hibernation and/or
miracles. But in the light of nature's examples, and the Bible's, it isn't unreasonable
to suggest that's exactly what happened.

Another logistics problem was feeding everybody when the Flood was over. What
would they eat then?

The Flood left some species of vegetation intact. For example Gen 8:10-11 tells of
an olive leaf which-- according to the Hebrew word taraph (taw rawf') --was
freshly plucked off the tree rather than found lying around dead on the ground.

Also, a number of plants produce underground, e.g. carrots, turnips, radishes,
yams, beets, peanuts, parsnips, rutabagas, onions, and Jerusalem artichokes, and
radishes. If Noah was directed where to look, he and his family could dig those up.

Plus, Noah was ordered to take aboard common foot stuffs for himself and for the
menagerie. I've a hunch that some of that was left over; maybe even quite a bit;
especially if God kept it resupplied like at 1Kgs 17:8-16 and 2Kgs 4:1-7.

Also, according to 1Kgs 19:5-9, God is capable of strengthening the nourishment of
common food so that those who eat it can get by on less than usual amounts.

NOTE: It's not unreasonable to believe vegetation survived the Flood. (It lasted
scarcely one year) The prairie grass that once flourished in America's corn belt was
some really hardy stuff. Prior to the White Man, prairie grass roots grew as deep as
four feet, and sometimes eleven, so that no matter how much or how often the
grass was burned off or withered by drought, it bounced right back.
_