nights of rain (Gen. 7:12, 17, 24; 8:1), plus the initial receding.
none), but by deep fountains in the earth. the windows of the heavens. The celestial waters in the canopy encircling the globe were dumped on the earth and joined with the terrestrial and the subterranean waters (cf. 1:7). This ended the water canopy surrounding the earth and unleashed the water in the earth; together these phenomena began the new system of hydrology that has since characterized the earth (see Job 26:8; Eccles. 1:7; Isa. 55:10; Amos 9:6). The sequence in this verse, indicating that the earth's crust breaks up first, then the heavens drop their water, is interesting because the volcanic explosions that would have occurred when the earth fractured would have sent magma and dust into the atmosphere, along with gigantic sprays of water, gas, and air—all penetrating the canopy triggering its downpour.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:16 the Lord shut him in. No small event is spared in the telling of this episode, although the details are sparse.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:19 all the high mountains. This describes the extent of the flood as global. Lest there be any doubt, Moses adds "under the whole heaven" (cf. 2 Pet. 3:5–7). There are over 270 flood stories told in cultures all over the earth, which owe their origin to this one global event.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:20 The highest mountains were at least 22.5 feet under water, so that the ark floated freely above the peaks. This would include the highest peak in that area, Mount Ararat (8:4), which is c. 17,000 feet high. That depth further proves it was not a local flood, but a global one.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:24 150 days. These days included the 40-day-and-night period of rain (7:12, 17). The flood rose to its peak at that point (cf. 8:3). It then took over two and a half months before the water receded to reveal other mountain peaks (8:4–5), over four and a half months before the dove could find dry land (8:8–12), and almost eight months before the occupants could leave the ark (8:14).
The Flood Chronology
The Flood Chronology 1. In the 600th year of Noah (second month, tenth day), Noah entered the ark (Gen. 7:4, 10, 11). 2. In the 600th year of Noah (second month, seventeenth day), the flood began (Gen. 7:11). 3. The waters flooded the earth for 150 days (five months of 30 days each), including the 40 days and 40 nights of rain (Gen. 7:12, 17, 24; 8:1), plus the initial receding.