Question: Did the Flood Rains Last Forty Days or One Hundred Fifty Days?
Genesis 7:24 and 8:3 speak of the flood waters lasting for 150 days. But other verses say it was only 40 days (Gen. 7:4, 12, 17), Which is correct?
Response:
These numbers refer to different things. Forty days refers to how long “the rain fell” (7:12, NIV), and 150 days speaks of how long the flood “waters prevailed” (Gen. 7:24, ESV))
At the end of the 150 days, “the Waters decreased” (8:3). After this, it was not until the fifth month after the rain began that the ark rested on Mt. Ararat (8:4). Then about eleven months after the rain began, the waters dried up (7:11; 8:13). And exactly one year and ten days after the flood began, Noah and his family emerged on dry ground (7:11; 8:14).
Now the word “prevailed” as used in Genesis 7:24, leads us to the Hebrew root word “gabar”, translated as “prevailed” in the ESV and other versions. It is a word used to refer to a military victory. The floodwaters “triumphed, overwhelmed, overcame or conquered” the surface of the land for 150 days, remaining victorious over everything beneath. These 150 days include the first 40 days of torrential rain, followed at some point by the end of water gushing up from below. After this, the waters begin to recede. But, for another 110 days, the floodwaters utterly destroy everything in their path. As indicated in the chapter 8, the ark finally came to rest on solid ground after those 150 days.
References
Geisler N and Howe T. (1992). A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties. Victor Books
https://www.bibleref.com/Genesis/7/Genesis-7-24.html. Accessed on 18th May 2022.
Apostle Benedict Eghan is a Minister of the Gospel with The Church of Pentecost and is currently the Resident Minister of Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Tesano. He also doubles as the Personal Assistant to the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye. Read More…