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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 Genesis 7:23 and Gospel of Philip 12:10

Hebrew Bible · Nag Hammadi

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Summary

The Gospel of Philip brings Genesis' ark into its picture of the cross. Shelter from the flood becomes shelter beneath the cross's arms, carrying Noah's image of survival into a final rescue that differs from entry into the hidden bridal chamber.

Passages

Genesis 7:23

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Gospel of Philip 12:10

Nag Hammadi
By contrast, the bedroom is concealed. It is the Holy inside the Holy. Indeed, in the beginning, the veil concealed how God governed the creation. When, however, the veil is rent, and those who belong to the inside are made manifest, this house will be forsaken [like] a desert, or instead, it will be [destroyed]. However, the fullness of the godhead will flee [from] these places, not into the Holies [of the] Holies, because it will not be able to mingle together with the unmingled [light] and the fullness without [lack], [but] it will come to be beneath the wings of the cross, [and beneath] its arms. This ark will [be their] salvation when the deluge of water weighs down on them. If some, by chance, be of the priestly tribe, they will be able to enter inside the veil together with the high priest.
180–250 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Philip

References

“... A similar intertextual juxtaposition of the two symbols—the ark of the covenant and the one of Noah—is found in the Gospel of Philip (NHC II,3). The author of this Valentinian composition makes use of typological exegesis, while putting the imagery of the ark and the flood into the eschatological per- spective of final “restoration:’ MINOV: NOAH AND THE FLOOD IN GNOSTICISM 227 in the holy. The veil at first concealed how God controlled the creation, but when the veil is rent and the things inside are revealed, this house will be left desolate, or rather will be [destroyed]. And the whole (inferior) godhead will flee [from] here but not into the holies [of the] holies, for it will not be able to mix with the unmixed [light] and the [flawless] fullness, but will be under the wings of the cross [and under] its arms. This ark [ⲦⲈⲈⲒϬⲒⲂⲰⲦⲞⲤ] will be [their] salvation when the flood of water [ⲠⲔⲀⲦⲀⲔⲖⲨⲤⲘⲞⲤ Ⲙ̅ⲘⲞⲞⲨ] surges over them. An intriguing detail of this latter-days scenario is that we are presented with two distinct groups of people: those of the priesthood, who shall enter the ultimate mystery of the “bridal chamber”; and, inferior to them, the follow- ers of the lower divinity, who shall seek salvation “under the wings of the cross.” Unfortunately, the author of the Gospel of Philip prefers to remain elusive and does not provide his readers with a key that would allow us to decode his message and get a clearer understanding of the kind of groups to which he refers. However, it seems plausible to suggest that he projects into the eschatological perspective the difference between the two groups, namely, between the spiritual and psychic races of humankind, that appears in many gnostic interpretations of the flood. Albeit in a cryptic form, he describes two different scenarios of behavior in the eschatological future that shall separate between the gnostic Christians and the ordinary believers. ...”
Sergey Minov, “Noah and the Flood in Gnosticism,” in Noah and His Book(s), ed. Michael E. Stone, Aryeh Amihay, and Vered Hillel, EJL 28 (Atlanta: SBL, 2010), 226–227.

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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Genesis 7:23 and Gospel of Philip 12:10

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