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Genesis

About this book

The Flood

Chapter 7

1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark,⁠ you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation.⁠ 2 You must take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate, two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,⁠ 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of the entire earth.⁠ 4 For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”⁠ 5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. 6 Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because of the floodwaters. 8 Pairs of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground,⁠ 9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah, just as God had commanded him. 10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth.⁠ 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 floodgates of the heavens were opened.⁠ 12 And the rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. 13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives.⁠ 14 They entered, along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 16 Those that entered were male and female, just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.⁠ 17 The flood engulfed the earth for 40 days.⁠ As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 18 The waters completely overwhelmed the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.⁠ 19 The waters completely inundated the earth so that even all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered.⁠ 20 The waters rose more than 20 feet above the mountains. 21 And all living things that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 So the Lord destroyed every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.⁠ 24 The waters prevailed over the earth for 150 days.

Texts in conversation

Compare Atrahasis and Genesis 7:16

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Atrahasis and Genesis echo many details, including sealing the boat before the flood. In Atrahasis, the hero closes the door as the winds rise, but in Genesis, God shuts it. Genesis also changes the order of boarding, with the family before the animals.

Passages

Atrahasis

Ancient Near East, Babylonian
Cattle [of Shak]kan, Wild animals of open country he put on board He invited his people to a feast. he put his family on board. They were eating, they were drinking. But he went in and out, Could not stay still or rest on his haunches, His heart was breaking and he was vomiting bile. The face of the weather changed. Adad bellowed from the clouds. When he (Atrahasis) heard his noise, Bitumen was brought and he sealed his door. While he was closing up his door Adad kept bellowing from the clouds. The winds were raging even as he went up (And) cut through the rope, he released the boat. Anzu was tearing at the sky with his talons, the land, He broke the Flood [came out] The kasiisu-weapon went against the people like an army. No one could see anyone else, They could not be recognized in the catastrophe.
1800–1701 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Atrahasis

Genesis 7:16

Hebrew Bible
14 They entered, along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 16 Those that entered were male and female, just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in. 17 The flood engulfed the earth for 40 days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 18 The waters completely overwhelmed the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

"... As the plot tension increases, the boat is loaded and sealed. Atrahasis is still fragmentary. Animals are gathered by Atrahasis (III.ii,32-38) but whether these are all creatures or only his own livestock is obscured. The tablet resumes with a banquet for "his people" and the family boards (III.ii.40-43). The section ends with a rare insight into the stress and emotional turmoil Atrahasis experiences (III.ii.45-47). When the weather changes, Atrahasis has pitch brought. He seals the door and cuts the ropes (III.ii.51-55). In Gilgamesh, an arduous launching of the boat precedes the loading, and the boat is already afloat before the flood starts (XI.76-79). Utnapishtim fends first for himself, loading his own goods, gold, silver, and livestock, followed by family, wild animals and craftsmen (XI.80-85). Utnapishtim does not divulge his feelings but does remind Gilgamesh of Ea's instructions (XI.86-91). Seeing the foreboding weather, Utnapishtim enters, granting the boatman who sealed the boat, his palace with all its goods (XI.93-95). If the boatman is on the outside, this is a short-lived consolation for being left behind. However, it is possible that the boatman is on board, and gains his inheritance once Utnapishtim and his wife are taken 'far-away' (XI.204-205). In the final form of Genesis, the making of the boat and its loading are separated by a further divine command to enter (7:1-4). In a reversal of the Mesopotamian accounts, the family's admission precedes the animals (7:7-9, 13-16) and there is no reference to material goods. Again, the inventory of animals, alongside the repetition arising from J and P, gives this section a greater weighting. Noah's inner thoughts and reactions remain a closed book and it is YHWH who shuts him in (7:16) ..."
Elizabeth Ann Harper, “It's All in the Name: Reading the Flood Narrative through the Lens of Genesis 5:29 (Noah's Naming)” (PhD diss., Durham University, 2013), 72.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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