[Part 1: Literary Context]
[Part 2: Historical Context]
[Part 3: Theological Analysis]
[Part 4: Application]
[Part 5: Endnotes]

Genesis 7:11 - 8:5

Perhaps the most famous story of antiquity is that of the great flood as found within biblical texts of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Discovered extra-canonical tablets trace the narrative through different languages and times with each modified version containing its own set of characteristics unique to that culture. Examination of extant Mesopotamian, Sumerian, and Ras Shamra accounts reveal the historical-mythological foundation upon which the Hebrew authors inevitably based their story. Thus, the Genesis redactor provides a Hebrew interpretation of God's wrath and the eschatological hope of his salvation and peace.

The entire Genesis account of the flood narrative starts at 6:5 and continues through 8:22. The beginning is clearly marked by God's sorrow for having made humankind because of their wickedness (6:5-6). As the story progresses, the introduction of Noah reveals that God is not finished with his creation in spite of the obvious rebellion and corruption (6:11, 13, 18). When the flood waters come, Noah, his family, and a collection of all the animals on earth rest safely inside an ark (7:12, 13, 15, 16). At the end of a one-year period, after having sent four birds in search of dry land, Noah leaves the ark together with its inhabitants and God establishes his covenant with all creation (8:6,8, 10, 12, 18, 21).

In a broader context, the flood narrative is part of the primeval history (Genesis 1-11). These chapters look at the development of civilization and God's interaction with humans universally. It is not until chapter 12 that we see the beginning of the Hebrew people. The larger picture also draws close connection in ancient thought between the creation hymn of chapter 1 and the flood tradition.

Contemporary scholarship recognizes the need for a proper understanding of these chapters. Evidence suggests that the authors of Genesis 1-11 never intended for their narratives to be viewed as a history of man. Rather, comparisons of ancient Near Eastern parallels reveal Genesis' polemical nature against the polytheism of neighboring peoples. If the primeval history "is…a fundamental challenge to the ideologies of civilized men and women…who like to suppose their own efforts will ultimately suffice to save them," then passages such as the one in question bear considerable theological significance.¹

In source criticism of the flood narrative, authorship is generally attributed to the intertwining of the J and P passages that were redacted by a common editor. J, which derives its title from the use of the divine name "Yahweh," was probably written around the 10^th or 9^th centuries BCE. P, or the "priestly" source, was written around the 6^th or 5^th centuries BCE and receives its name from the Israelite priests' perspective from which it is composed.^2. It is of theological significance to understand how J and P are combined to form a single story of importance to the Hebrew community.

A look at the disentangled passage reveals that most of the J source (7:12, 16b, 17b, 22, 23a,c, 8:2b, and 3a) has been worked into the entire P (7:11, 13-16a, 17a, 18-21, 24, 8:1-2a, and 3b-5) account. While P usually consists of long blocks of text, J appears to be the interpolation of fragments from another text or editorial additions. To separate the sources correctly, scholars have employed J's use of Yahweh and P's use of Elohim, the differences in how many animals were taken onto the ark, and the numbers involving duration of rain, the water rising and falling, and total length of time.^3.

The structure of the passage presents itself in the form of a chiasmus. A chiasmus organization is characterized by a parallel structure where the first and last items are parallel, the second and the second to last items are parallel and so on. Wenham suggests the following configuration:

A. Violence in creation (6:11-12)
B. First divine speech: resolve to destroy (6:13-22)
C. Second divine speech: "enter ark" (7:1-10)
D. Beginning of the flood (7:11-16)
E. The rising of the flood (7:17-24)
God remembers Noah
E' The receding of the flood (8:1-5)
D' Drying of the earth (8:6-14)
C' Third divine speech: "leave ark" (8:15-19)
B' God's resolve to preserve order (9:1-17)
A' Fourth divine speech: covenant (9:18-19)^4.

The extended chiasmus over the four chapters centers around God remembering Noah. Thus the focus becomes the action of God on behalf of Noah rather than what Noah did. Also of significance is the way the days parallel around the central point.

7 days of waiting for the flood (7:4)
7 days of waiting for the flood (7:10)
40 days of flood (7:17a)
150 days of water triumphing (7:24)
150 days of water waning (8:3)
40 days' wait (8:6)
7 days' wait (8:10)
7 days' wait (8:12)^5.

The literary structure of this passage points the reader towards the middle of the two halves. On one side is the death and annihilation of humankind. God has given creation back to the chaos from which it came. However, once God remembers Noah, the waters begin to recede and a commitment and promise of new life is made. The focus of the passage as a literary unit, therefore, is not about wrath or the flood. Rather, its appears to comment "on our common human pilgrimage and the way in which our common lot is decisively changed by the change wrought in God."^6.

Returning to the idea of Genesis 1-11 as a whole literary unit expressing a theological point, the flood story becomes the axis around which the other narratives revolve. The structure moves from chapter 1 with the creation to the destruction of life in the flood to the recreation of life that God brings when he remembers Noah. Thus, 8:1 is the turning point for not only the flood but for all of the primeval history.