StandUpGenesis 7
- 7:1
The Lord said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.
After Noah singlehandedly built the ark, it would be awkward if God ran a new righteousness report, and decided to save Jebediah instead.
God notes that he has chosen to save Noah specifically because of his righteousness "in this generation." How does evaluating a person's morality based strictly on the standards of their specific time period alter how we judge right and wrong?
- 7:2
You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female.
This verse assumes Noah already knows clean from unclean animals—apparently working off a pre-release version of Leviticus.
The distinction between "clean" and "unclean" animals appears here long before the formal laws of Israel are established later in the Bible. What does the inclusion of this specific legal terminology suggest about when this text was written?
- 7:3
Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive on the surface of all the earth.
With all those birds entering, some humans probably tried to sneak on with their Big Bird costume.
The narrative devotes an entirely separate verse specifically to the birds of the sky, repeating the command to take seven pairs. Why does the text single out birds for this special emphasis instead of grouping them in with the rest of the animal kingdom?
- 7:4
In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made from the surface of the ground.”
This is a dream scenario for the Weather Chanel.
God gives a precise seven-day warning before unleashing a storm that will destroy all life. What does this brief window of time suggest about the concept of divine patience right before a major judgment?
- 7:5
Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.
Curiously, there was no command about Porta-potties.
The passage concludes with the familiar formula that Noah did everything exactly as commanded. Given that the instructions left out so many practical, daily details, what does this absolute compliance say about the nature of Noah's obedience?
- 7:6
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.
If I were 600 years old and a big flood was about to happen, I’d thank God for six good centuries, and tie bricks to my feet.
The narrator notes that Noah was exactly six hundred years old when the flood arrived. How does anchoring a massive, cosmic catastrophe to a specific individual’s age change how we view the timeline of the story?
- 7:7
Noah went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.
People often imagine the crowd mocking Noah, though the text never says that. If anything, Noah was probably mocking them for thinking they could survive in their kayak.
Popular culture and later traditions often depict a dramatic scene of neighbors mocking Noah before he enters the ark. Why would later retellings of this story feel the need to invent this non-biblical detail?
- 7:8
Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground
Seven pairs of the clean animals means there were 14 cows on the ark. Which wouldn’t be too bad, unless they started acting sacred.
While popular tradition focuses on the animals entering strictly "two-by-two," this verse includes the clean animals, meaning there were actually seven pairs of certain species on board. How does the presence of so many additional animals change our understanding of the environment and the scale of life inside the ark?
- 7:9
went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah.
To confirm male and female, Noah must’ve had some awkward verification procedures.
The animals are described as arriving in pairs and going "to Noah into the ship," rather than Noah tracking them down. How does this detail shift our understanding of who is responsible for gathering and organizing the creatures?
- 7:10
After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth.
Imagine that doppler radar.
The text notes that the floodwaters arrived exactly after the seven days of waiting had passed. How does imagining the arrival of this storm as a massive, visible weather system emphasize the sheer scale and monstrosity of the disaster about to hit the earth?
- 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened.
The specificity of the day is amusing, as if it lends more historical credibility to the story. By the way, it was August 3, 2963 BC. At 10:04 EST.
The text provides an incredibly precise date—the six hundredth year, second month, seventeenth day—alongside the vivid image of the "fountains of the great deep" bursting open. How should we interpret the mix of highly specific calendar dates with grand, poetic descriptions of cosmic upheaval?
- 7:12
It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.
Hopefully it started raining on a Monday because then it only rained for five weekends.
The text states that it rained continuously for forty days and forty nights. What does the use of the number forty—a number heavily repeated throughout the rest of biblical history—suggest about the symbolic nature of this timeframe?
- 7:13
On that same day Noah, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons, entered the ark.
This story is very repetitive, saying the same thing over and over. It’s almost like there’s two separate flood stories, two distinct tales interwoven—dual accounts presented as one.
This verse repeats the exact list of family members entering the ark that was already stated in verse 7. How should we view this heavy repetition, and what does it suggest about how the narrative was compiled?
- 7:14
They had with them every animal after its kind, all the livestock after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings.
Ideally more people would’ve been allowed on the boat, like infants. Then Noah could’ve hung a Baby on Board sign.
The text painstakingly lists every single category of animal and winged creature on board while only a tiny handful of humans are present. How does this overwhelming ratio of animals to people reshape our view of who or what the ark was primarily built to preserve?
- 7:15
Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ark with Noah.
Noah should’ve kept a record of all the animals. And put them in an appendix at the end of Genesis. Which would be a big help for today’s zoologists.
The passage notes that pairs from "all flesh with the breath of life" entered the boat. How should we interpret the phrase "breath of life" when it applies equally to both humans and the animal kingdom?
- 7:16
Those who went in, male and female of all flesh, entered as God commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.
Noah was “shut in” like a terrified kindergartener on his first bus ride. Except without the Pokémon backpack.
The verse concludes with the specific detail that "Yahweh shut him in." What is the significance of God personally closing the door, rather than leaving the final physical act of security up to Noah?
- 7:17
The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth.
This is what they call a flood of biblical proportions. Notably, there is no such phrase, "flood of Buddhist proportions," because that would just be a very mindful puddle.
The description of the rising waters obliterating life presents an incredibly violent and catastrophic picture of divine action. How does the central role of this massive violence in the narrative compare to other ancient or global religious traditions, such as Buddhism, that fundamentally eschew violence?
- 7:18
The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters.
It’s fortunate the ship floated because it was packed tighter than a commuter train in India.
The narrator shifts from the water rising to the simple detail that the ship "floated on the surface." How should we interpret this brief moment of stability in the middle of a global catastrophe?
- 7:19
The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered.
At this altitude, we should picture Noah feeding the emus with an oxygen tank strapped to his back.
The waters are described as rising so high that even the highest mountains under the sky were covered. What does this total submerging of the natural landscape tell us about the author's view of the scope of the flood?
- 7:20
The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.
Which will happen again by July 2095. Or maybe not until August if you buy an electric car.
The text notes that the floodwaters rose exactly fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. How does looking at this ancient description of rapidly rising waters connect to contemporary conversations regarding climate change, rising sea levels, and modern environmental crises?
- 7:21
All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, wild animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and all human beings.
When God does something, he does it completely. Which explains his original title for Genesis: Go Big or Go Home.
The passage explicitly states that all flesh died, listing birds, livestock, wild animals, creeping things, and all human beings. What is the impact of listing each category individually rather than just saying "everything died"?
- 7:22
Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
As God looked out over all the dead infants and ponies, he probably thought, “Maybe I overdid it. . . . But some of those babies were cranky.”
The text states that everything on dry land with the breath of life died, a description that inevitably includes infants, toddlers, and young children who were incapable of moral accountability or wickedness. How should a reader grapple with the theological and moral implications of an innocent population being swept away in this indiscriminate destruction?
- 7:23
Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including humans, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
Scholars debate how the birds died. One theory is they rode on top of the ark until Noah bludgeoned them to death with a broom.
The text explicitly states that the birds of the sky were completely destroyed. Given that birds are the creatures least susceptible to drowning and most capable of finding refuge on the ark or floating debris, what does the text's insistence on their total demise say about the absolute nature of this judgment?
- 7:24
The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.
Which is confusing since God said it would only rain for 40 days. So the 150 days is likely symbolic: One day for each wicked Mormon.
The text states that the waters flooded the earth for 150 days, which conflicts with the earlier 40-day timeline. When paired with the earlier discrepancies regarding the number of animals taken on board, what do these conflicting timelines suggest about how the final text of the flood story was compiled?