Water is necessary for life. Water can also take life. Water is good, but it is not safe. It’s cute and refreshing in 10oz plastic bottles. It’s convenient and beneficial when indoor faucets control the temperature and flow. But it’s deadly running wild.

The emphasis of this paragraph is not on those delivered, but those destroyed by the water. The focus moves from inside the ark to outside; a few were shut in and not a few shut out. It highlights not the dating and the sources of the flood, but the duration and depth of it.

In Genesis 7:1-16 God calls Noah to embark the ark and the flood erupts. In verses 17-25 the flood prevails, covering the face of the earth.

The Prevailing Depth (verses 17-20)

Four times in this paragraph, and three times in verses 17-20, the word prevailed occurs. “Prevailed” means to be strong like warriors triumphing over their enemies. In Genesis 7, the water wins.

The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. (verses 17-20)

The waters increased , prevailed , increased greatly , prevailed mightily covering the mountains , and prevailed above the mountains 15 cubits (around 22.5 feet). There was no hill water didn’t take.

Speculating on the amount and depth of water may be inexact but it can also edifying. Taking what we know, that the ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat, that Mt. Ararat is almost 16,900 feet above sea level, and that the flood waters covered all the high mountains by over 22 feet (meaning that if half of the ark were under water it could float over the peaks smoothly, while also remembering that there are higher peaks than Mt. Ararat), a conservative estimate would be that the water was over three miles high from normal sea level. That also means that, taking the same height, and assuming that the waters continued to rise for 150 days, the level of water increased by 113 feet every day. If it only rose for the first 40 days, the level rose 423 feet a day. That’s a lot of water.

The Prevailing Destruction (verses 21-23)

God purposed the flood “to make an end of all flesh” (6:13) and now that purpose was fulfilled. The proportion of space devoted to describing the destruction makes judgement the focal point of the paragraph.

And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.

The repetition leaves no doubt. Every category of animals created, of which two each were spared on the ark, are now destroyed. There were only two qualifiers: the sea creatures did not perish and neither did Noah and those who were with him in the ark (verse 23). Though 7:11-16, as well as the preceding sections in the story, reveal that Noah was promised deliverance, the reminder at the end of verse 23 keeps us from taking the damage for granted. It’s amazing (grace) that Noah survived.

Otherwise, All flesh…on the earth , everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life , every living thing on the face of the ground , were blotted out .

It’s difficult to imagine the anguish and horror of this scene. Men and animals would have ran for high ground, but with the water level rising 56 to 211 inches per hour (for comparison, the total rain this year through November 12 near Seattle is 28.17 inches), they could not run far enough fast enough. All their possessions and homes were left behind and swept away. Perhaps some close to the ark would have beat on the sides, crying out for Noah to open the door. The weaker ones, the sick and elderly, wouldn’t have made it long. Perhaps some floated for while, though the initial downpour and bursting forth would have overwhelmed many, such as a tidal wave (as the fossil record demonstrates). Those who didn’t die immediately would have suffered most by drowning in a guilty conscience. As they struggled for breath, they may have realized they didn’t praise God with their breaths, even though many had heard Noah’s message of righteousness and repentance.

How soon was too soon for jokes around the dinner table in the ark?