Up until about 2013, I always believed in a worldwide flood, however, the bible and other older sources prove the flood was regional and only impacted the known world of Noah. Below is a bible overview of why I think the flood was regional and then I show sources from old books.
The Bible account of the Flood
Our bible tells us that Noah’s race was
perfect, which means that Noah and his offspring were of the pure race that our
Father in Heaven created. It also tells
us that the people who died had the breath of life which was given to Adam and
passed down to his descendants (Gen 2:7).
“But Noe [Noah] found grace before the Lord God. And
these are the generations of Noe. Noe was a just man; being perfect in his
generation [G1074 genea; race, stock, family],
Noe was well-pleasing to God. And Noe
begot three sons, Sem, Cham, Japheth. But the earth was corrupted before God,
and the earth was filled with iniquity. And the Lord God saw the earth, and it
was corrupted; because all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. And the
Lord God said to Noe, A period of all men is come before me; because the earth
has been filled with iniquity by them, and, behold, I destroy them and the
earth.”
Gen 6:9-14
“And the Lord God said to Noe [Noah], Enter thou and
all thy family into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in
this generation [G1074 genea; race, stock, family].
And of the clean cattle take in to thee sevens, male and female, and of the
unclean cattle pairs male and female. And of clean flying creatures of
the sky sevens, male and female, and of all unclean flying creatures
pairs, male and female, to maintain seed on all the earth. For yet seven days having passed I bring rain
upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out every offspring
which I have made from the face of all the earth. And Noe did all things whatever the Lord God
commanded him. And Noe was six hundred
years old when the flood of water was upon the earth. And then went in Noe and
his sons and his wife, and his sons' wives with him into the ark, because of
the water of the flood. And of clean
flying creatures and of unclean flying creatures, and of clean cattle and of
unclean cattle, and of all things that creep upon the earth, pairs went in to
Noe into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noe. And it came to pass after the seven days that
the water of the flood came upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe,
in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on this day all
the fountains of the abyss were broken up, and the flood-gates of heaven were
opened. And the rain was upon the earth
forty days and forty nights. On that very day entered Noe, Sem, Cham, Japheth,
the sons of Noe, and the wife of Noe, and the three wives of his sons with him
into the ark. And all the wild beasts
after their kind, and all cattle after their kind, and every reptile moving
itself on the earth after its kind, and every flying bird after its kind, went in to Noe into the ark, pairs, male and
female of all flesh in which is the breath of life. And they that entered went in male and female
of all flesh, as God commanded Noe, and the Lord God shut the ark outside of
him. And the flood was upon the earth
forty days and forty nights, and the water abounded greatly and bore up the
ark, and it was lifted on high from off the earth. And the water prevailed and abounded
exceedingly upon the earth, and the ark was borne upon the water. And the water
prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and covered all the high mountains which
were under heaven. Fifteen cubits upwards was the water raised, and it covered
all the high mountains. And there died all
flesh that moved upon the earth, of flying creatures and cattle, and of
wild beasts, and every reptile moving upon the earth, and every man. And all
things which have the breath of life, and whatever was on the dry land,
died. And God blotted out every offspring which was upon the face of the earth,
both man and beast, and reptiles, and birds of the sky, and they were blotted
out from the earth, and Noe was left alone, and those with him in the ark. And
the water was raised over the earth an hundred and fifty days.” LXX Gen 7:1-24
Notice
that Noah knows the laws regarding clean and unclean animals since he was given
different directions regarding them; this is because these laws were already in
place (Deu 14:7-19). The same is true
that the descendants of Adam were to only marry within their own race or tribe
and that is why it was important that Noah’s race or genes were perfect (Num
36:6).
“And God remembered Noe, and all the wild beasts, and
all the cattle, and all the birds, and all the reptiles that creep, as many as
were with him in the ark, and God brought a wind upon the earth, and the water
stayed. And the fountains of the deep were closed up, and the flood-gates of
heaven, and the rain from heaven was withheld. And the water subsided, and went
off the earth, and after an hundred and fifty days the water was diminished,
and the ark rested in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh day of the
month, on the mountains of Ararat. And the water continued to decrease until
the tenth month. And in the tenth month,
on the first day of the month, the heads of the mountains were seen. And it
came to pass after forty days Noe opened the window of the ark which he had
made. And he sent forth a raven; and it
went forth and returned not until the water was dried from off the earth. And he sent a dove after it to see if the
water had ceased from off the earth. And the dove not having found rest for her
feet, returned to him into the ark, because the water was on all the face of
the earth, and he stretched out his hand and took her, and brought her to
himself into the ark. And having waited
yet seven other days, he again sent forth the dove from the ark. And the dove
returned to him in the evening, and had a leaf of olive, a sprig in her mouth;
and Noe knew that the water had ceased from off the earth. And having waited yet seven other days, he
again sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him again any more. And it came to pass in the six hundred and
first year of the life of Noe, in the first month, on the first day of the
month, the water subsided from off the earth, and Noe opened the covering of
the ark which he had made, and he saw that the water had subsided from the face
of the earth. And in the second month
the earth was dried, on the twenty-seventh day of the month. And the Lord God spoke to Noe, saying, Come
out from the ark, thou and thy wife and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with
thee. And all the wild beasts as many as
are with thee, and all flesh both of birds and beasts, and every reptile moving
upon the earth, bring forth with thee: and increase ye and multiply upon the
earth. And Noe came forth, and his wife
and his sons, and his sons' wives with him. And all the wild beasts and all the cattle and
every bird, and every reptile creeping upon the earth after their kind, came
forth out of the ark. And Noe built an
altar to the Lord, and took of all clean beasts, and of all clean birds, and
offered a whole burnt-offering upon the altar. And the Lord God smelled a smell
of sweetness, and the Lord God having considered, said, I will not any more
curse the earth, because of the works of men, because the imagination of man is
intently bent upon evil things from his youth, I will not therefore any more
smite all living flesh as I have done. All the days of the earth, seed and
harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring, shall not cease by day or night.” LXX Gen 8:1-22
The use of the word ‘all’ implies an
eyewitness account of this flood. The
person stating that ‘all’ was impacted is implying ‘all’ that they saw was
impacted. For example, if you call me while
I am traveling and I tell you all the freeways are slow due to lots of traffic;
do you assume that I am stating that every freeway in the world in slow due to
traffic? Or do you assume just the freeways
I encountered are slow due to traffic?
Just as with Noah’s flood, you can only assume that he is giving an
account of what he is seeing and he does not know what is going on the other
side of the world. Noah is giving an account of what he sees in the region
where he is living.
Book of Jubilees – Reason for the Flood
The Book of Jubilees explains that the
flood occurred because the Watchers took wives with the sons of men (Adam) and
had children. These would create race
mixed children and not the pure creation that our Father in Heaven
created.
“And in the twenty-eighth
jubilee [1324-1372 A.M.] Noah began to enjoin upon his sons' sons the
ordinances and commandments, and all the judgments that he knew, and he
exhorted his sons to observe righteousness, and to cover the shame of their
flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and love their
neighbour, and guard their souls from fornication and uncleanness and all
iniquity. For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth,
namely, owing to the fornication wherein the Watchers against the law of
their ordinances went a whoring after the daughters of men, and took themselves
wives of all which they chose: and they made the beginning of uncleanness.
And they begat sons the Naphidim, and they were all unlike, and they devoured
one another: and the Giants slew the Naphil, and the Naphil slew the Eljo, and
the Eljo mankind, and one man another. And every one sold himself to work
iniquity and to shed much blood, and the earth was filled with iniquity. And
after this they sinned against the beasts and birds, and all that moves and
walks on the earth: and much blood was shed on the earth, and every imagination
and desire of men imagined vanity and evil continually. And the Lord destroyed
everything from off the face of the earth; because of the wickedness of their
deeds, and because of the blood which they had shed in the midst of the earth
He destroyed everything. 'And we were left, I and you, my sons, and everything
that entered with us into the ark, and behold I see your works before me that
ye do not walk in righteousness: for in the path of destruction ye have begun
to walk, and ye are parting one from another, and are envious one of another,
and (so it comes) that ye are not in harmony, my sons, each with his brother.
For I see, and behold the demons have begun (their) seductions against you and
against your children and now I fear on your behalf, that after my death ye
will shed the blood of men upon the earth, and that ye, too, will be destroyed
from the face of the earth. For whoso sheddeth man's blood, and whoso eateth
the blood of any flesh, shall all be destroyed from the earth”. Jubilees 7:19-28
The bible also tells us before the
flood occurred that the giants had children with the daughters of men
(Adam). The bible account does agree
with the Book of Jubilees:
“Now the giants were upon the earth in those days;
and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men,
they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, the men of renown. And
the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon
the earth, and that every one in his heart was intently brooding over evil
continually, then God laid it to heart that he had made man upon the earth, and
he pondered it deeply. And God said, I will blot out man whom I have made from
the face of the earth, even man with cattle, and reptiles with flying creatures
of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them.” LXX Gen 6:5-8
Bible Proof of a Regional Flood
The bible reflects in Genesis chapter
15 that descendants of Cain are still living after the flood and so were the
giants (shown in blue). So, these people
lived before and after the flood. It
also reflects people with no genealogy in the bible were living after the flood
and they are reflected in red below. These tribes are not descendant to Noah
since they are not included in Genesis chapter 10 or the genealogies in
Chronicles.
“In
that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given
this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
the Kenite [a Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin; from tribe of Cain], and the Kenizzite,
and the Kadmonite,
and the Hittite,
and the Perizzite,
and the Rephaim
[old race of giants], and the Amorite,
and the Canaanite,
and the Girgashite,
and the Jebusite.”
ASV Gen 15:18-21
The Kenizzite, Kadmonites, and
Perizzite have no genealogy in the bible, see Genesis chapter 10 and 1
Chronicles they are not mentioned. They
are not Canaanites, see Ham’s descendants here or Genesis chapter 10 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X5UQCC-nKeKdthyGK_q0d8N_h9LCDB7e/view?usp=sharing The Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites,
Girgashites, and Jebusites were descendants of Canaan; therefore, lived only
after the flood.
There were giants both before and after
the flood such as Goliath mentioned in Samuel chapter 17 and the verse above
mentions giants. They are mentioned
before the flood in this verse; therefore, they were not destroyed in the
flood.
The Nephilim
[giants] were on the earth in those days, and
also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they
bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of
renown. Gen 6:4
The water prevailed 22.5 feet
(approx.). over the highest mountain they could see. It would not be a measurement over all the
mountains worldwide since that measurement would differ.
“Fifteen
cubits [22.5 feet approx.] upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains
were covered.” ASV Gen 7:20
This witness is stating that ‘all the
flesh’ in his known world died. He could
not be a witness to everything going on around the world at this time. He does clarify though that the flesh that
died had the ‘breath of life’ and it the ‘breath of life’ was only given to
Adam and his descendants (Gensis 2:7).
“And
all flesh died that moved upon the earth [H776
erets; earth, land], both birds, and cattle, and beasts, and
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose
nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of all that was on
the dry land, died.” ASV Gen 7:21-22
The English word ‘earth’ is translated
from the word ‘erets’ which can mean either earth, soil or the land. The translator’s choice the word ‘earth’ in
the flood story and in other verses they use the word ‘land’. Therefore, the translators could have used
the word ‘land’ in the flood story. The verse below shows the word ‘erets’ translated
to the word ‘land’.
“Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and
settled in the land
[H776
erets; earth, land] of Nod, east of Eden.” ESV Gen 4:16
Tower of Babel – Different Nouns Used
After the building of the Tower of Babel,
the languages of the different people there changed and this included
nouns. As you will see below in the
flood stories that Noah was called different names by different descendants of
Adam and so were others.
“Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord
confused the language of all the earth
[H776 erets; earth, land].
And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.” ESV
Genesis 11:9
Josephus, Antiquities – Some saved on Mountain
Josephus says many fled to a great mountain
called Baris in Armenia and were saved from the flood.
From https://sites.google.com/site/latinjosephus/antiquities/book-1
Story of Hellen
Hellen is probably a son of
Noah…
.
This
name, in legend, has its origins in the story of Hellen, the son of Deucalion
and Pyrrha, in an origin myth that parallels parts of the Book of Genesis.
Hellen's father survived a great flood Zeus used to wipe out humanity. Hellen
himself became the founding father of all of the Greek tribes, one from each of
his sons: Aeolus the Aeolians, Dorus the Dorians, and Xuthus the Achaeans and Ionians through his son Ion.” From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Greece#Hellenes
More information here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deucalion
1818 - Faber’s Horæ
Mosaicæ – Herdsman & Shepherd Saved
According to this account, certain herdsman
and shepherds were saved on the tops of the mountains from the flood.
From page 113
and on 114 more information is provided: https://archive.org/details/hormosaicoradis01fabegoog/page/n146/mode/2up?view=theater
More
information about the Flood according to American traditions:
https://www.sacred-texts.com/atl/ataw/ataw205.htm
https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/flood-legends/flood-legends-americas-part-3/
The peak of the mountain Mowna Roa was not flooded.
1841 news – History of China before the Flood
According to this newspaper article, China
was exempt from the flood.
From column 4 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/ncu_jefferson_ver02/data/sn84020750/00416156888/1841080701/0513.pdf
Continued…
1847 – The Patriarchal Age
Noah was to
write a history of the beginning, procedure and conclusion of all things and
bury it at the City of the Sun, at Sippara.
The history was buried and later found at Sippara.
Page 265 https://archive.org/details/patriarchalageo00smitgoog/page/264/mode/2up?view=theater
Noah sees the
tops of the mountains.
Pages 288-289 https://archive.org/details/patriarchalageo00smitgoog/page/288/mode/2up?q=rising&view=theater
People were
saved who escaped into caves on tops of mountains.
Page 289 https://archive.org/details/patriarchalageo00smitgoog/page/288/mode/2up?q=rising&view=theater
Page 290 https://archive.org/details/patriarchalageo00smitgoog/page/290/mode/2up?q=rising&view=theater
1874 - The Builders of Babel
-Regarding the Flood
A universal flood that covered the
whole earth could not have taken place.
1876 - Chaldean Genesis – Some saved on Mountain
According to this Chaldean Genesis book
some people went up a mountain and were saved.
There is more information about the flood in this book. PDF of book here https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QacglkiHLnVnB0zk1VZLD9-K4HvJjhWObjVBQsCkhEAOdyWNJ4Rr5nKTt-BngFXWm_vXZbFpRDNYFp2A3VueptvXsfnLfurKNqJsYRKd6lnOdsQZgoLYDiYZETJKzM0gGPkHOxyZUpyxKfBrmH5HZYcnhhvIP8799j38u6QaRHBq5j_85iyUPvOFanrnKT_y6vCtMoyUl24WuKnPEig4rv7H9bC2KPvGREk2yOu--zUUZd4RlrNOHcnPhnpFtfGmBC7LHgpodQxFcPoI13I1M1IbmVvbyg
1876 – Cory’s Ancient Fragments – Chaldean Flood Record
Page 70 https://archive.org/details/corysancientfrag00coryuoft/page/70/mode/2up?view=theater
Many people retreated to the mountain
called Baris to escape the flood.
1885 - Bible Hermeneutics – States it was a Regional Flood
1892 - Royal Irish Academy - No Flood in Golgotha on Mount Zion
According to
this Royal Irish Academy book published in 1892, Golgotha was not flooded. Therefore, Golgotha that was on Mount Zion
was not flooded.
You can download a pdf of this book here, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KruuscNeL1mQ4lRBwASlO6bXmEdMQTt6/view?usp=sharing
Ancient Saved Pre-Flood Writings
Regarding the writing that were buried at Sippara, the City
of the Sun, they maybe the writings of Enoch.
It is well known the Enoch’s writings were saved. Jude 1:14 alludes to Enoch’s writings and
prophecies.
The book of Enoch can be purchased online and it is also
here and many places: https://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/
Below from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41174216
was written in 1943:
The Sinking of Atlantis
I do believe
that the sinking of Atlantis is a result of Noah’s flood. Atlantis was named after King Atlas who was
the patriarch, Enoch. Many of Adam’s
descendants were living in Atlantis when the flood happened.
Today the word atlas means a bound collection of maps. This word comes to us from the Latin noun Atlas who
was a Greek ancient Titan who
was the “Bearer of the Heavens”. They say Atlas was mythical;
however, many people that write our history for us state most all of our
ancient documented history is mythical.
Atlas was not mythical; he was Enoch who was seventh generation from
Adam. The sunken place called Atlantis was named after Atlas. The
The oldest
known mentions of an ‘Atlantic’ sea comes from Stesichorus around
mid-sixth century BC Atlantikôi pelágei
(Ancient Greek: Ἀτλαντικῷ πελάγει, 'the Atlantic sea', 'Sea of Atlas').
Below is a 1752 Map called ‘Orbis Vetus deVaugondy’ that
shows the maker thought Atlantis was in America. The Rocky Mountains were called the Atlas Mountains.
Gadirus which means sword
written across the great lakes.
My attempt to translate Latin to English written in the
upper left corner:
Atlantis Insulae [island] pars
[part, place, region] septentrionalis [north] non [not] tanium ad [toward, to]
Asiae [Asia] magnitudinem [greatness, magnitude] accedit [I go], sed [but]
etiam [also] ejus [is] figuram [shape, form, figure], ritum [rite, ceremony] et
insularum [island] circumjacentium [near or around] multitudinem [a great
number, crowd] imilatur [represent, copy]
In current day Mexico it says, Machimos which means battle
ready and then bellatrix which means woman warrior.
Source: https://archive.org/details/hormosaicoradis01fabegoog/page/n124/mode/2up?q=atlas
Source: https://archive.org/details/patriarchalageo00smitgoog/page/266/mode/2up?q=atlas&view=theater
Picture source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_(mythology)
Here are links
to Enoch’s calendar and astronomy:
https://kingdomhereamerica.blogspot.com/2017/11/enochs-yearly-circuit-of-sun.html
http://kingdomhereamerica.blogspot.com/p/yahwehs-solar-calendar_2.html
1882 – ‘Atlantis: The Antediluvian World’
This book
explains that the flood could not have been universal.
Source: https://ia801606.us.archive.org/31/items/atlantisantedil00donn/atlantisantedil00donn.pdf
The Michigan Flood Relics
Starting in 1890,
thousands of clay, slate and copper tablets were found in 16 counties in
Michigan. Some say the tablets are
genuine and others stated they were a hoax.
Below are two that reflect the flood story. Notice that both of these have grids on the
left and right of the ark. These grids count
to 40 on both side; reflecting 40 days and 40 nights. They also both reflect ancient cuneiform writing. And they both reflect the eye of providence which
is the symbol for God’s benevolent oversight.
Source:
Engravings
of Prehistoric Specimens from Michigan, U.S.A.
Conclusion
There are many
reasons that the flood did not impact the whole earth and instead just impacted
a large area of land. Besides the reasons given above here in my short list as
to why the flood had to have been regional:
- There is
no account in the bible about replanting the whole earth with herbs, brush
and trees that would have died after a one-year flood.
- Certain
plants and trees are native to certain continents. These trees and plants were created at
creation and would have required a recreation to have different plants and
trees on different continents.
- There is
no account as to why some animals only live in certain places and how they
would have got there again. Like
the Kangaroo is only in Australia for example. There are other animals that are only on
certain continents and there is no account of how they would have gotten
to that continent after the flood.
- The earth
was populated with different plants, trees, and animals in the creation
account on Genesis chapter 1 and not again after the flood. Noah I’m sure had seeds with him to
replant in the area where he lived only.
- Different
breeds of birds alone would have taken a fleet of arks to accommodate them
and their food.
- The hay
required to feed the cows, sheep and goats would require lots of space. One ark could not accommodate all of the
world’s animal types plus a years’ worth of hay and feed.
