Genesis
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Genesis 7 – Skeptic's Annotated Bible answered
A response and reply to the notes on Genesis 7 in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB).
King James Version
SAB comment
My comment
1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
How did Noah know which animals were "clean" and "unclean" to God? (It wasn't defined until Leviticus was written.)
How many of each kind did Noah take into the ark?
We also don't know if this is the first time the distinction was made, not just the first time we read about it. But John Gill argues ably that the distinction was known for longer, and that the reason Noah had to take in more of the clean animals was that they were appropriate for sacrifice and food. So after The Flood more of them would be needed as well.
3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
God repeats his intention to kill "every living substance ... from off the face of the earth." But why does God kill all the innocent animals? What had they done to deserve his wrath? It seems God never gets his fill of tormenting animals.
5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
Whether by twos or by sevens, Noah takes representatives from each species of "every thing that creepeth upon the earth." [more] How many of each kind did Noah take into the ark?
The author of the SAB also thinks there were too many species to fit into the Ark. Maybe the author of the SAB has never heard of speciation. Every animal kind carries in it the genes, the biological machinery and instructions, that allow it to adapt to all kinds of conditions. For example, how many dogs does the author of the SAB think Noah took? All the kinds? Of course not. Noah took one, the ancestor of our wolves and dogs. From that all the variety we have today “evolved.” Lions and tigers for example are related, and can interbreed, indicator their was an ancestor species. This was the animal Noah took in the Ark and from it our lions and tigers evolved.
The scientific field that tries to determine what the original animal kinds were that God created is called baraminology.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
(7:11) "The windows of heaven were opened."
God opens the "windows of heaven."He does this every time it rains.
"In the six hundreth year of Noah's life ... the windows of heaven were opened."
(See Quran 29:14 which says he was 950 when the flood began.)
That the Quran says Noah was 950 years old clearly indicates it was not inspired.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
(7:13-14) "In the selfsame day"
All of the animals boarded the ark "in the selfsame day."
Since there were a million species or so at the time, the animals must have boarded at a rate of at least 20 animals/second.
Moreover, the link of the author of the SAB counts many species which did not need to go into the Ark such as fish and plants. Only land animals and fowls had to go into the Ark. The creationist estimate of the number of these original kinds is that there were about 8,000. Two from each, means Noah needed to take 16,000 animals.
The carrying capacity of the Ark was equal to 522 standard railroad stock cars, each of which can hold 240 sheep. Standard cages of 50x50x30 centimetres can hold 16,000 animals while taking up only 14.4 stock cars. So there was room enough.
It took 7 days for 8,000 pairs to board. If we assume a 12 hour day that would mean 95 pairs boarding per hour, or one pair every 38 seconds.
14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
How many of each kind did Noah take into the ark?
16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
(7:19-20) "The mountains were covered."
The flood covered the highest mountain tops (Mount Everest?) with fifteen cubits to spare. Where did all the water come from? Where did it all go? Why is there no evidence of such a massive flood in the geological record?
Secondly, the upper layers of Mount Everest are water deposited layers, containing fossils including marine crinoid fossils so it must have been under water at one stage, if one believes in The Flood or not.
So the mountains were not as high before The Flood. The water receded because two things happened: the mountains rose and the valleys sank, see Psalm 104:8, but then translated as John Gill has it: “"the mountains ascended, the valleys descended.”
21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
(7:21-23) "All flesh died that moved upon the earth."
God drowned everything that breathes air. From newborn babies to koala bears -- all creatures great and small, the Lord God drowned them all. (Except for the Nephilium, that is.)
Did everyone die in the flood?
God's First Killing
The author of the SAB claims that the Bible says not every died, because the Bible talks about giants before and after The Flood. That can't be the explanation, because the Bible says all humans on earth who were not in the ark, died. First of all, the giants may not refer to stature, see chapter 6:4. But if it does, I do not know if the giants before The Flood had the same cause as after. What is likely is that the giants after The Flood were caused by a genetic disorder, see for example 1 Sam. 17:4. If that was the case before the Flood is impossible to say. It could have been that humans had genes for extra long stature that got lost in the genetic bottleneck that The Ark was.
22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
How long did the flood last?
God calls Noah "righteous." But this contradicts several other verses that say there never has been such a person. And he just doesn't seem too darned righteous in 9:20-21. (Where he gets drunk and lies around naked in front of God and everybody.)
Has there ever been a righteous person?