Flood Facts and Stories

Lorna and I arrived at our cottage in Prince Edward Island a week ago and we are still settling in and adapting to the new mode of living.  Perhaps because our property is on the water – although well up from the shore which is actually ocean water, my thoughts turn to Noah and the Flood story in the bible. 

In this reflection on the Flood story, I am drawing on material in wonderful lectures by Prof. Joel Baden of Yale Divinity School which are available on YouTube.  Here is the link to the first lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZIm_edPz20.  I have listened to the lecture series a couple of times and find them enlightening and engaging. 

As Dr. Baden points out, most people, even in today’s secular society, know the story of Noah and the flood – or think they know it.  The basic story outline probably foes something like this.  God told Noah – the only good man in the world - that God was going to send a flood to kill all living thing.  God told Noah to build and arc and get his family on board along with a pair of animals of every kind.  The rains began and it rained for forty days and the water covered the earth.  The water subsided and Noah sent out a dove which, after a few tries, didn’t return and Noah and his family and all the animals disembarked and the animals and people re-established themselves on the earth to make a new start.  Most people can probably recount a basic version of the story which is still very much part of popular culture – particularly in this time of Global Warming and melting glaciers and Ice Caps. 

However, the story, as Dr. Baden illustrates, is not that clear cut.  There are conflicting aspects to the story.  Here are some of the things which don’t quite match the popular understanding of the Flood story:

                                                       Version 1                                       Version 2

Animals                          1 pair of all animals                        7 pairs of clean animals, 1 pair unclean;

Water                              Rains 40 days and 40 nights          waters fall from above and raise from below.

Duration                         Flood lasts 40 days and nights.           Flood lasts 150 days

Bird sent out                   a dove sent out three times                   a raven sent out once

These are a few of the example of the conflicting details in the story.  As Dr. Baden explains, the Flood story in the bible or bibles is a compilation of two sources – what are named the J source (for Yahwist) and P source (for Priestly).  Each source has a complete flood story which is coherent and unified.  They have been combined into one story which is what is found in the Christian bible and Hebrew scriptures.  This is part of what is called the Documentary Hypothesis which postulates four sources for the first books of the bible. 

If you would like to explore this in more detail, I would invite you to read or reread the Flood story in Genesis chapters 6 to 9, and check out the variation and see if you can spot these and others.  I also invite you to tune into Dr. Baden’s lecture 3 on the Flood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzV5qiQmTBw&t=1303s

Whether you are a religious believer or not, the Bible is a wonderful source of stories and wisdom and an account of people struggling to relate to what they understand as the divine source of life.  Reading it with an open mind and heart will give you an entry into a world which is more than you can ask or imagine.

Blessing as you read interesting books on your journey. *