Was Noah’s Flood Global?

Christians commonly believe the Biblical story of Noah’s Flood was global, but is that really what the Bible reveals?

I don’t think so, and I am going to explain why.

We typically believe Noah’s Flood was global as Genesis says, “all flesh died that moved upon the earth.” However, the Hebrew word for “earth” is typically translated as “land,” and it does not mean the entire planet. In fact, God Himself said, “earth” simply means “dry land.”

So I will explain to you the various meanings of the word “earth,” and other concepts that are critically important to the discussion. Moreover, this study will prime your mind for my entire Noah’s Flood series. I am confident, this series will answer the questions you have about the Biblical flood.

So with that, let’s get started!

God Called “Dry Land,” Earth

A global flood comes to mind when we read verses like Genesis 7:4, 19, and 21. However, if that were true, it would create a contradiction with Genesis 7:22. I’ll explain shortly, but since we know the Bible doesn’t contradict itself, that means we have to take a closer look at the details.

In order to do that, let’s begin by gaining a better understanding of the word “earth.”

Let’s see how God defined it.

Genesis 1:10
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

There we have it.

God was not talking about the entire planet.

In verse 9, God caused land to rise above the waters. God simply called this “dry land,” “earth.” Therefore, God set a precedent for us that we should carefully observe.

So let’s do that by defining the Hebrew words “dry” and “earth,” as cited in verse 10.

Dry” means,

Dry (ground, land).

While “earth” means,

‘erets

…the earth (at large, or partitively a land): – X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X nations, way, + wilderness, world.

As we can see, the Hebrew word “‘erets” was translated as “earth” in Genesis 1:10. However, “earth” does not always mean the whole planet. Instead, it can refer to the “ground,” “land,” or even a ‘portion of land.’

In fact, in the King James Bible, “’erets” has been translated as:

  • “Land” over 1,300 times
  • “Earth” 616 times
  • “Country” (ies) 100 times
  • “Ground” 91 times

So “earth” does not necessarily translate to the whole planet.

As Christians, it’s our responsibility to carefully study Scripture. To ensure the proper word is applied, so we can obtain the correct meaning. This helps us frame the subject, and understand the context of the discussion.

We now know, not only did ‘God call the dry land earth,’ but it can even mean “ground,” “land” or a portion of it. So when we read the word “earth,” we are simply talking about “dry land,” the ground above the water in most cases.

Noah’s Flood Was In A Desert

All right, let’s read a few verses about the Genesis flood. I will also show you how a global flood actually causes a contradiction in the Bible.

Turn your Bible with me to,

Genesis 7:17
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.

God brought about Noah’s Flood by causing torrential rains and the fountains of the great deep to be opened. This went on for forty days and forty nights. I certainly believe that occurred.

However, I don’t believe Noah’s Ark was ‘lifted up above the planet,’ do you?

No way, right?

Noah’s Ark was still on earth, it was simply floating on the water that flooded the region. So right away, we see “land” would have been a much better translation here.

What “land” are we talking about?

The area where Noah lived, the location where Noah’s Flood took place.

Genesis 7:21
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.

There we have it.

All flesh died that moved upon the earth”.

However, don’t forget what we learned about the Hebrew word “’erets.” It can mean ‘all or part of earth,’ “land,” or even “ground.”

Let’s read the next verse and then I’ll explain.

Genesis 7:22
All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

Wait a second…

Did “all flesh” die “upon the earth,” or did “all flesh” die in just the “dry land?”

There’s a big difference there, so which is it?

As we can see, this verse actually creates a contradiction with the prior verse if we believe the whole planet was flooded and every creature died. Verse 22 just explained, all flesh in an arid region died, not all flesh on the planet.

Remember what God said back in Genesis 1:10?

“God called the dry land earth.” Genesis 7:21 is simply explaining, the arid region where Noah’s family lived was flooded, and all life in that region perished.

Since the King James translators used the word “earth” in Genesis 7:21, we automatically think the whole planet flooded. However, verse 22 provided us with more detail, so we know that is not the case. All we are talking about is a local flood, a geographical location that was flooded.

I want to show you something else.

Dry” in Genesis 7:22 means,

A desert: – dry (ground, land).

So Genesis 7:22 is explicitly telling us, Noah’s Flood occurred in “a dry desert land.” A region where water was scarce, and floods were uncommon if ever witnessed at all. This makes the flood on the world of the unGodly even more understandable, (2 Peter 2:5).

God’s goal and purpose for the flood was to destroy the unGodly, not the whole world.

God completely inundated an arid region of the world with a massive flood never before witnessed in human history. It was specific and concentrated to the area where Noah lived due to the sin that was taking place there.

This revelation tells us, “earth” in Genesis 7:21 should have been translated as “land” or even “ground.” “All flesh” did not die upon the entire planet, rather “all” flesh “in the dry land, died” as verse 22 explained.

This removes the idea and possibility of Noah’s Flood being global. Moreover, it removes the contradiction between verses 21 and 22 that should have never been present to begin with.

Before we move on, I want to provide some additional perspective.

The Word Earth And Speech Patterns

When you study, it’s important to consider the time of the Biblical writing, who was talking, and what were the circumstances. That provides perspective which helps you properly understand a subject.

After all, we have now learned, “earth” does not necessarily mean the entire planet.

To add to that, I also want you to consider how people talk.

In the modern era, you may hear a news report say,

  • “California was shaken by a great earthquake.”
  • “South Carolina is suffering major flooding.”

However, that does not mean the whole state of California shook or all of South Carolina flooded. We all know, these phrases simply mean a portion of the state, a specific region is suffering a catastrophic event, not the entire state.

I mention this to help you reflect, which also leads us into the next section.

Improper Translations

We have now learned, “earth(‘erets) does not always mean the entire planet. However, when we read the word “earth” in the Flood account, we automatically think Noah’s Flood was global. It’s been drilled into our minds since our youth.

All right, now I want to show you four Scriptural excerpts where “earth” is used when it shouldn’t have been. Two are about the Flood, and two are not. Let’s take a look.

In Genesis 8:13 we are told,

“…the waters were dried up from off the earth.”

Now, our planet still had oceans, rivers, and lakes. The floodwaters that covered the “ground” simply dried up.

In Genesis 8:14, we are told about Noah’s Flood,

“…the earth dried.”

The planet did not literally become dried up.

We all realize that.

However, the Bible did say, “the waters were dried up from off the earth” and “the earth dried.” Yet, we all know that means only the floodwaters dried up, not the planet.

Now, let’s look at two verses unrelated to Noah’s Flood.

In 1 Kings 1:52, Solomon said,

“…there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth.”

Solomon was simply saying, not a single hair would fall to the ground.

In 2 Samuel 18:9 it’s stated,

Absalom “…was taken up between the heaven and the earth.”

Absalom was not really taken up between heaven and earth. His neck was caught in a branch, so Absalom was in the air off the ground.

My point to you, “land,” “ground,” and “earth” are all used interchangeably when we are talking about the Hebrew word “’erets.” There’s no hard rule in the Hebrew language. As I pointed out earlier, “’erets” is more often than not translated as “land.”

So again, our perception tends to shape Scripture in the case of Noah’s Flood, so we have to be careful with that. We are accustomed to believing the Flood of Noah was global as it has been drilled into our minds since we were a child, but the Bible does not actually state that.

Young Earth Creationism

Once we accept a belief, we should understand how it impacts the rest of our worldview.

For example, young earth creationists are the biggest proponents of a global flood. Outside of the typical Biblical argument, they explain other civilizations also record great floods in their history, even citing the Epic of Gilgamesh.

However, those are not Biblical proofs, nor are they proof of a global flood. If Noah’s Flood was global, those civilizations would have been unable to record such an event as they would have been swept away by the supposed global flood they were recording.

Moreover, young earth creationists believe the entire universe was created in six literal 24-hour cycles. That creates a lot of Biblical problems. They also believe earth is just 6,000 years old.

With respect to Noah’s Flood, they state,

“According to the Bible, dinosaurs, synapsids, birds, and mammals all lived at the same time but in different places. Rising floodwaters devastated wetlands and formed Permian and Triassic rocks and fossils in just weeks or months.”

Brian Thomas, Christian Science Researcher

Their young earth and global flood beliefs force them to fit our planets history into a tiny window. Layers of rock are not formed in weeks or months. We have all witnessed floods, but they never formed rocks.

Their belief also means, Noah’s Flood caused…

  • Mount Everest
  • The Rocky Mountains
  • The Appalachians
  • The Grand Canyon
  • The Badlands

…to be formed in weeks.

Does geological scientific evidence support that?

No, and neither does Scripture.

The multicolored composition of rock and soil, including the fossils they contain disprove those ideas alone. Moreover, a global flood also forces the idea that Adam and Eve lived with Dinosaurs, and that all races are related to Adam and Eve, and of course, Noah.

Do you honestly believe the Bible proves any of those beliefs?

Conclusion

As we conclude, let’s reflect…

God Himself told us, “earth” simply means “dry land,” not the entire world. We also learned, “earth” is typically translated as “land” in the Hebrew language. When we understand that, we can easily see how Noah’s Flood was not a global flood, but a local flood.

Especially when we remember the flood was only “fifteen cubits” deep, (Genesis 7:20). Ironically enough, young earth creationists believe there were no mountains and hills in Noah’s time, but that’s not what God’s Word said.

Then the tough questions come in.

  • How did the animals fit on the Ark?
  • Where did the water go after the flood?
  • How did life repopulate after the flood?

Just think about that last question, if there were alligators aboard Noah’s Ark, how did they cross sand and saltwater oceans to make it to Florida? Gators will die in saltwater.

So when we really analyze Scripture, and what we know about our world, we can see a global flood narrative really does not add up.

I now invite you to begin reading my Noah’s Flood series. I hope these studies help you understand all aspects of the great flood.

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