Genesis flood narrative

The Genesis flood narrative makes up chapters 6–9 in the Book of Genesis, in the Bible. As one of many flood myths found in human cultures, the narrative recounts God's intent to return the Earth to its pre-creation state of watery chaos by flooding the Earth because of humanity's misdeeds and then remake it using the microcosm of Noah's ark. Thus, the flood was no ordinary overflow but a reversal of creation. The narrative discusses the evil of mankind that moved God to destroy the world by the way of the flood, the preparation of the ark for certain animals, Noah, and his family, and God's guarantee (the Noahic Covenant) for the continued existence of life under the promise that he would never send another such flood.

Although many religious groups consider the story to be largely allegorical, there still exist some fundamentalists who believe the story to be literally true. Since at least the 19th century, scholarly consensus and evidence from scientific investigation have shown that the story cannot be literally true, and among scholars it is categorized along with other flood myths as a legend.

Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark (Hebrew: תיבת נח‎; Biblical Hebrew: Tevat Noaḥ) is the vessel in the Genesis flood narrative (Genesis chapters 6–9) by which God spares Noah, his family, and a remnant of all the world's animals from the flood. According to Genesis, God gave Noah instructions for building the ark. Seven days before the deluge, God told Noah to enter the ark with his household and the animals. The story goes on to describe the ark being afloat throughout the flood and subsequent receding of the waters before it came to rest on the Mountains of Ararat. The story is repeated, with variations, in the Quran, where the ark appears as Safina Nuh (Arabic: سفينة نوح‎ "Noah's boat"). The Genesis flood narrative is similar to numerous other flood myths from a variety of cultures. The earliest known written flood myth is the Sumerian flood myth found in the Epic of Ziusudra.Searches for Noah's Ark have been made from at least the time of Eusebius (c.275–339 CE) to the present day. There is no scientific evidence for a global flood, and despite many expeditions, no evidence of the ark has been found.

Flood

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land which is usually dry. The European Union (EU) Floods Directive defines a flood as a covering by water of land not normally covered by water. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide.

Flooding may occur as an overflow of water from water bodies, such as a river, lake, or ocean, in which the water overtops or breaks levees, resulting in some of that water escaping its usual boundaries, or it may occur due to an accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground in an areal flood. While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, these changes in size are unlikely to be considered significant unless they flood property or drown domestic animals.

Floods can also occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river channel, particularly at bends or meanders in the waterway. Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if they are in the natural flood plains of rivers. While riverine flood damage can be eliminated by moving away from rivers and other bodies of water, people have traditionally lived and worked by rivers because the land is usually flat and fertile and because rivers provide easy travel and access to commerce and industry.

Noah

In the Abrahamic religions, Noah (/ˈnoʊ.ə/), or Noé or Noach (Hebrew: נֹחַ,‎ נוֹחַ, Modern Noaẖ, Tiberian Nōăḥ; Syriac: ܢܘܚ‎ Nukh; Arabic: نُوح‎ Nūḥ; Ancient Greek: Νῶε), was the tenth and last of the pre-flood Patriarchs. The story of Noah's Ark is told in the Torah in the Genesis flood narrative. The biblical account is followed by the story of the Curse of Canaan.

Besides the Book of Genesis, Noah is also mentioned in 1st Chronicles, Tobit, Wisdom, Sirach, Isaiah, Ezekiel, the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, the Epistle to the Hebrews, 1st Peter and 2nd Peter. He was the subject of much elaboration in the literature of later Abrahamic religions, including the Quran (Sura 71).

Biblical account

The primary account of Noah in the Bible is in the book of Genesis.

Noah was the tenth of the pre-flood (antediluvian) Patriarchs. His father was Lamech and his mother is unknown, but is thought to be either Adah or Zillah, wives of Lamech. When Noah was five hundred years old, he begat Shem, Ham and Japheth (Genesis 5:32).

Bible story

Bible stories, Judeo-Christian parables retelling some portions of the Bible, have been used in family religious worship, spiritual instruction and literature in Christian and Jewish societies.

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