Genesis 6:17

GENESIS—NOTE ON Genesis 6:17 Everything that is on the earth shall die. This does not necessarily mean that the flood had to cover the whole earth. Since the geographical perspective of ancient people was more limited, it is possible that the flood, while universal from their viewpoint, did not cover the entire globe. Genesis 1:1 implies that prior to the Tower of Babel incident (see Genesis 11:1), people had not yet spread throughout the earth. Many interpreters argue that a huge regional flood may have been all that was necessary for God to destroy all humans. The expression “all the earth” (Genesis 7:3; compare Genesis 8:9, “the whole earth”) does not exclude such a possibility. Later, “all the earth” came to Joseph to buy grain (Genesis 41:57); here, “all the earth” clearly refers to the eastern Mediterranean seaboard. To support the view that the flood did in fact cover the entire globe, other interpreters point out that the text says “all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered” (Genesis 7:19) and that the water was “fifteen cubits” above the tops of the mountains. If “the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4) refers to the range that includes present-day Mount Ararat in Turkey (elevation 16,854 feet or 5,137 m), the amount of water necessary to cover it would be at least 16,854 feet above sea level.