Genesis 7:20

Fifteen cubits upwards did the waters prevail,.... Either to such an height above the earth, upwards from that, or from the high hills; for though the words do not necessarily imply that, yet it may

Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. Fifteen cubits upward.

Fifteen cubits were sufficient for the destruction of the highest men, or other creatures, though placed upon the highest mountains.

Genesis 7:20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.Ver. 20. Fifteen cubits upward.] So, above any mountain. The Popish fable of Enoch, preserved alive in some high place of the earthly paradise, shall as soon be believed as the Jewish tale of Og (one of the old giants, say they), escaping death by riding astride upon the ark.

(20) Fifteen cubits upward.—This apparently was the draught of the ark, computed after it had settled. in the region of Ararat. Fifteen cubits would be about twenty-two feet, and as the ark floated onward without interruption until it finally grounded, there must have been this depth of water even on the highest summit in its course. Continuous rains for forty days and nights would scarcely produce so vast a mass of water, unless we suppose that the adâmâh was some low-lying spot of ground whither the waters from many regions flowed together; but this is negatived by the ark having travelled into Armenia. In England the whole average mean rainfall in a year is not more than twenty-eight or thirty inches in depth. If we suppose this amount to have fallen in every twenty-four hours, the total quantity would be about 100 feet. Such a rain would denude the mountains of all soil, uproot all trees, sweep away all buildings, dig out new courses for the rivers, completely alter the whole surface of the ground, and cover the lower lands with débris. Wherever there was any obstacle in their way, the waters would deepen in volume, and quickly burst a passage through it. But as they would be seeking the lower grounds during the whole forty days, it is difficult to understand how they could cover any of the heights to the depth of twenty-two feet, unless there were some cosmic convulsion (see Note on Genesis 7:11), by which the waters from the equator were carried towards the poles, and in this way there would be no difficulty in the ark being carried against the current of the Tigris and Euphrates up to the high lands of Armenia.

Verse 20. Fifteen cubits upward] Should any person object to the universality of the deluge because he may imagine there is not water sufficient to drown the whole globe in the manner here related, he may find a most satisfactory answer to all the objections he can raise on this ground in Mr. Ray's Physico-theological Discourses, 2d edit., 8vo., 1693.

20. Fifteen cubits] P describes a depth of water of 15 cubits (= 22 feet) above the mountains. Why should 15 cubits be mentioned? Very possibly, because the height of the ark was 30 cubits (Genesis 6:15), and the ark was considered to be submerged for half its depth. It would thus just touch the top of “the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4). 21 (P). And all flesh died] Cf. Genesis 6:17. P here describes the death by drowning of all living creatures. creeping thing] Literally, as marg., swarming thing that swarmeth. See note on Genesis 1:20. The word used is characteristic of P. 22 (J). all] The account in this and the following verse gives J’s description of the destruction of all life. The repetition is obvious. in whose nostrils, &c.] The expression is evidently based upon the words in Genesis 2:7, “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” But “the breath of life” of that passage is combined here with “the spirit of life” which we find in Genesis 6:17, Genesis 7:15 (P). The one is a phrase characteristic of J, the other of P. The combination is not found elsewhere. Possibly the word “spirit” has been introduced by the compiler or by a copyist. in the dry land] as if to emphasize the thought that the marine animals survived. The word in the Heb. rendered “the dry land” is different from that so rendered in Genesis 1:9 (P). 23 (J). was destroyed … were destroyed] The better reading is that rendered in the R.V. marg., and he destroyed every living thing. For the word “destroyed,” Heb. blotted out, see Genesis 6:7, Genesis 7:4. 24 (P). an hundred and fifty days] The duration of the Flood, corresponding to the 40 days of J in Genesis 7:12. According to P, the rising of the waters, described in Genesis 7:18-20, continued or “prevailed” for 150 days, after which the waters began to fall: see Genesis 8:3 b, 4a.

20. Fifteen cubits upward — The arithmetical exactness here is noteworthy.