The Evidence for Noah's Flood

A friend of mine posted a recent chat on her YouTube channel with an orthodox professor of Biblical studies who doesn't believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis should be taken literally. While he still maintains to be a Christian, he believes that the Garden of Eden, the flood, and the tower of Babel are myths that God used as symbols of his relationship with man.

I thought I would present historical evidence for Noah’s flood to contribute to their discussion (I've linked the following blog to them on Twitter to read and react to). As most of my readers know, this is a topic I’ve heavily researched, written, and spoken about in the past (in fact, I admit some of this is directly taken from previous blogs).

I’ve read that there are at least 250 flood legends from the ancient world. Skeptics are usually quick to point out that this disproves the flood altogether, since the Genesis account isn’t the oldest one.

Strikingly, most tell the same basic story: the god(s) becoming angry with humanity and deciding to wipe it out with a deluge. One righteous man is chosen to save our species, so he builds a giant ark and loads it with his family and animals to save from extinction (that his family is composed of 8 is also a recurrent pattern). The waters drown humanity but the ship is swept up to the side of a mountain where the flood hero worships and begins to repopulate the earth.

An interesting detail that often gets overlooked is that in many of these accounts, the hero also becomes the inventor (and in some instances the deity) of wine. In Genesis, Noah becomes the first to disgrace himself with alcohol. According to Richard Barnett:

“The fame of Urartian wine (it seems) had even reached the distant Hebrews in ancient Palestine, where its invention in Armenia was projected back to dimmest antiquity, as witnessed by their story of Noah disgraced by drunkenness on Mount Ararat. Indeed the wine grape, vitis vinifera, from which the cultured vine is derived, is believed to have originated nearby in the Caucasus region near the Caspian.”

The flood legends are almost universal to ancient cultures around the world. Obviously, the Hebrew and Christian version is the story of Noah. Sumeria produced the Ziusudra Epic. The Deucalion Legend comes from Greek mythology. From India comes the Manu Legend. Flood tales are found in China and even from the ancient Mayans, on the other side of the world. The most famous one after Noah is the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, which also most closely resembles Genesis, with the flood hero sending out a dove to see if the waters have receded. In all likelihood, the name “Noah” is borrowed from the Gilgamesh hero (a hypocoristicon of Ut-Nua-Pish-Tim). The oldest flood legend is probably the Atrahasis Epic, from Lower Mesopotamia. And here’s our first clue to get us closer to the actual flood around which these stories are based.

Granted, I’m biased as a Christian, but I find the traditional archaeological explanation for these coincidences lacking. The general narrative is that the flood stories are all borrowed from one another, while at the same time being based on different local floods. For example, a deluge striking Babylon inspired the Gilgamesh epic, while the details of the story are borrowed from other cultures. It’s often assumed that the Shurupak flood inspired the Atrahasis epic, which is the first example of the tale emerging from the ancient world.

I think this is wrong because it violates the principle that the simplest explanation is almost always the right explanation. Taken at face value, it’s kind of discombobulated and gives a more complicated solution than is necessary. There’s also a fatal flaw in the Shurupak claim: it’s a bit detailed for me to get into here without going off topic, but in chapter 5 of Legend: The Genesis of Civilization, David Rohl explains that the Atrahasis Epic actually predates the Shurupak flood.

However, while the Atrahasis version is the oldest flood legend, it’s not the oldest historical reference to the flood itself. As far as we have found, that prize goes to the Sumerian King List, which is on display at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. Translated by Thorkild Jacobson in 1939 and dating to around the early eighteenth century BC (end of the Isin Dynasty), this clay prism lists two of the first kings of Mesopotamia (Alulim and Alalgar), then casually states “Then the flood swept thereover.” So this is a sign that very far back in Middle Eastern history, the great deluge was considered a historical event.

The simplest explanation is that a real catastrophe of epic proportions nearly wiped out early Mesopotamian civilization, which serves as the historical basis for the flood legends. The next question is whether we can find evidence of such a disaster.

In 1929, legendary British archaeologist Charles Leonard Woolly made an amazing discovery in the ruins of Ur (the city of Abraham): a massive alluvian silt deposit. The strata ranges in depth from 8 to 11 feet (even a really bad flood will only leave a silt deposit of a few inches at the most). No other deposits from the ancient world have come as close in size and scope to this monstrosity; it is likely the worst flood that the human race ever encountered. The broken remnants of the earliest primitive Ubaid period settlements were found buried underneath it. Woolly (who was known for being somewhat theatrical) proudly proclaimed that he had found Noah’s flood, and dated the cataclysmic event at about 3100 BC.

His colleagues later disputed his claim, citing that it didn’t coincide with traditional Biblical dating (which would place the flood about a thousand years later, in the early 2000s BC). Woolly himself conceded as much, and the matter has rarely been brought back up since. However, according to Rohl, this flood needs to be re-examined as a candidate for the Biblical deluge. For one, unlike the Shurupak flood, this one is older than any flood legends. For another, this one was so gigantic that it would have easily been large enough to submerge all of at least Mesopotamia, with a water level deep enough to cover mountains, and bring early man to near destruction.

With the help of geologic history, we can even determine its cause. A massive volcanic eruption from the Aleutian Islands, possibly larger than any in modern recorded history, shattered the earth in 3119 BC, spewing billions of tons of ash into the air and blotting out the sun, triggering a mini-ice age. The Atrahasis Epic describes 6 years of severe cold that destroyed crops and brought famine that led people to resort to cannibalism: “When the second year arrived, they had depleted the storehouse. When the third year arrived, the people’s looks were changed by starvation. When the third year arrived, they served up a daughter for a meal, then served up a son for food.”

When the sun finally penetrated the dark clouds, the global temperature skyrocketed again and started a disastrous chain of events. Melting glaciers caused the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to swell and charged rapidly south. At the same time, the sudden heating of the atmosphere triggered an apocalyptic storm as frozen sulfuric crystals dissolved and fell to Earth. The Bible tells us that the “fountains of the deep opened up,” and it’s entirely possible that a giant underwater earthquake in the ocean could have triggered a tsunami from the South (this will explain the direction the ark was carried in). A perfect combination of elements had conspired to bring a flood the likes of which the world has never seen, wiping out everything in its path: towns, villages, farms and livestock. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered (Genesis 7:19-20). All that was left behind were the broken remnants of a failed civilization buried underneath a silt deposit that would not be seen again until 1928.

By the way, you may have heard that Robert Ballard (the same guy who discovered the Titanic) has proposed an alternate explanation for the flood legends. In 1999, he came forward with the claim that the creation of the Black Sea was the inspiration for the tale of Noah. According to his theory, this vast body of water was a small freshwater lake in a large fertile basin about 8,000 years ago, when suddenly a natural disaster caused a sudden inflow of salt water. Early humans who fled the incoming deluge concocted the story of the ark.

The problem with this it that the geologic event is far too early to line up with the Biblical timeline. It was also a slow-moving influx of water that probably took place over four decades. So with the Woolly flood in mind, I don’t think we have anything of any relevance in the Black Sea theory.

Since I’m satisfied that we’ve established the flood as a real historical event, the only question now is, was the flood hero and the ark real?

In most minds, “the ark” is synonymous with “Mount Ararat,” based on this scripture: And the ark rested in the seventh month, and the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 7:4). The quest has become as bizarre and fantastical as the tale of Noah itself. Two Russian pilots during World War I claimed to have discovered it and in the 70s, Jimmy’s Carter’s presidential staff allegedly spotted it while flying over Ararat in Air Force One. Governments have released satellite images and maps of the mountain, mostly showing nothing. Even a former Baywatch actress has nearly died in her attempts to locate it.

Our first problem, however, may be the location. Pay careful attention to the wording of verse 4: mountains (plural) of Ararat. “Mount Ararat” (real name Agri Dagh) does consist of two peaks; however, it wasn’t given that name until the thirteenth century by European explorers. Ever since, Agri Dagh has become an enduring pop culture icon as the Biblical site of Genesis 7:4. It is also the biggest obstacle to locating the real ruins of Noah’s ark.

In the Bible, “Ararat” is actually a translation of “Urartu,” a large area of land that includes the Zagros Mountain range. It’s unlikely that Genesis is specifically referring to Agri Dagh, which is why obsessive hunts for the ark have amounted to little more than wild goose chases.

But we do have clues from other ancient texts to help narrow our search. For thousands of years, Christians, Jews, and Muslims identified a different slope as the Mountain of Descent. Seventeen miles southwest of Ararat is a slightly smaller peak known as Judi Dagh. Mount Judi had been recognized as the mountain of the ark dating back almost to the flood itself until the unfortunate “Mount Ararat” misconception of the thirteenth century. Here are some of the many ancient historical references that site the decaying ruins of a giant shipwreck on the slopes of the mountain:

Babylonian historian Berossus (3rd century BC): “A portion of the ship, which came to rest in Armenia, still remains in the mountains of the Korduaians of Armenia, and some of the people, scraping off pieces of bitumen from the ship, bring them back and use them as talismans (this is very significant, because it coincides with Genesis 6:14: Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. “Bitumen” was often used in fashioning boats in the ancient world to prevent leaking, but is only produced in swampy lowlands. If bitumen was located on mount Judi as Berossus claimed, it would be hundreds of miles from any nearby sources).”

From Louis Ginzberg’s Legend of the Jews: “On his return to Assyria, Sennacherib found a plank, which he worshipped as an idol, because it was part of the ark which had saved Noah from the deluge. He vowed that he would sacrifice his sons to this idol if he prospered in his next ventures. But his sons heard his vows, and they killed their father, and fled to Kardu, where they released the Jewish captives confined therein great numbers.”

Ibn Haukal, 10th century Muslim geographer: “Judi is on a mountain near Nisibis. It is said that the ark of Noah (peace be upon him) rested on the summit of the mountain.” (Nesibin is north-west of Mosul).

Eutychus of Alexandria, 9th century Christian bishop: “The ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, that is Gebel Judi, near Mosul.”

The Nestorian Christians built the “cloister of the ark” monastery on Judi Dagh.

The Quran labels Judi Dagh as the mountain of the ark in Sura 11:44: “And the word was spoken: ‘O earth! swallow up thy waters! And, O sky, cease [thy rain]!’ And the water sank into the earth, and the will [of God] was done, and the ark came to rest on Al-Judi. And the word was spoken: ‘Away with these evil doing folk!’”

A tribe near the mountain called the Yezidis may have even been a living link to the antediluvian period. In 1846, Sir Austen Henry Layard described their annual pilgrimages to the sight of the ark where he learned of their ancient legends that eerily match the stories of Genesis. They claimed to be descendants of Noah, and worshiped a vulture-like god they described as a fallen being with many names, including “Lasifarus” (Lucifer) and “Shaitan” (Satan). Ancient Yezidi tales even described fallen heavenly beings who mated with humans and gave birth to giants!

If we’re to believe the Atrahasis Epic is reliable, being the oldest legend, then the flood hero constructed the ark near the city of Eridu (coastal at the time; today, its ruins are far inland due to changing sea levels). This means that as the tidal wave came, the raging torrent swept the ark upward at a journey of about 500 miles before depositing it on the slopes of Judi Dagh. Putting the puzzle pieces together, the Woolly flood is the only one in history large enough to carry the ship that far.

Remember when I mentioned earlier that the ancient Mayans had a flood legend of their own? If you look at the date they gave it according to their calendar, you can place it around 3100 BC, near the exact time as the Woolly flood!

I think the evidence is sufficient to call the Great Flood a fact of human history. I am also satisfied that the evidence is sufficient to support at least the basics of the Genesis story, that a real person built large wooden ship to save himself, his family, and animals from certain annihilation. If I didn’t believe in God, however, I would still be at a loss to explain how he knew the deluge was coming. Fortunately, I feel we have a great explanation in the Word of God: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8).

But what of the symbolism? That is, the world was covered with water in Genesis 1, the land emerged from the sea, then drowned back into the water to purify it from sinful humanity. It’s almost like a death and rebirth cycle that plays out in the early Biblical narrative. The only question is what the exact relationship between history and symbolic events is. By exploring the natural causes and archaeological evidence, I don’t intend to diminish from the meaning of the flood tale with regards to the Bible. Fortunately, we serve a God who is so great and mighty that He can structure real historical events and then present them in a way that has powerful symbolism that resonates with us forever!

-Rohl, David. From Eden to Exile: The 5,000-Year History of the People of the Bible. Lebanon, TN: Greenleaf Press, 2002, page 49-55.

-Tenny, Merrill C., ed. Pictorial Bible Dictionary. Nashville: The Southwestern Company, 1968, Page 285.

-Rohl, David. “Mountain of the Ark.” March 24, 2012. Davidrohl.blogspot.com, accessed March 17, 2017.

- Feiler, Bruce. Walking the Bible: A Journey By Land Through the Five Books of Moses. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2002, page 25.

-Rohl, David. Legend: The Genesis of Civiliziation. London, Random House Group, 1998, pages 141, 148, 155, 157

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This foolishness has to stop soon.

There is nothing on Earth that is not strong evidence of the flood.

Things like the ark itself and all the anchor stones in the surrounding area should be enough, but they are actually the least of the evidence.

The glaciers that once covered a large portion of the land mass could only have been the result of the hot ocean that remained immediately after the land mass divided.

The fossil layers could only be the result of a flood and numerous collisions of large land masses.

That civilization arose such a short distance from the final resting place of the Ark is also hard to ignore.
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>> “How did they feed all those animals on the ark for 7 months?” <<

That is explained in the word. they had six pairs of every clean animal, and one pair of each unclean animal.
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One of my biggest questions about the flood is this?

Where did black people come from?

From all accounts, the flood is reputed to have occurred some time between 3000 BC and 2300 BC. That is from 5000 to 4300 years ago.

Given that Noah was directly descended from Adam, and nobody in Noah’s family had black skin, how is it that people in Africa developed black skin in under 3000 years. We know that the Roman armies captured black prisoners from Africa and brought them back to Italy. So sometime in the 3000 years between the flood and Rome’s African conquests, Noah’s descendants in Africa developed black skin.

Can somebody please explain to me how that is possible. Because humans have not physically evolved much in the 2000 years since then. We have generally gotten taller, but I can’t think of many changes besides that.

So how was it that Noah’s descendants evolved from olive skinned people to Nigerian black in just 3000 years? I have always wanted somebody to explain this to me in provable scientific terms.

From Genesis 1:1 through the next 11 chapters there are two floods described... The first flood described is in Genesis 1:2... The purpose of the first flood was the casting down of the ‘devil’... you know that ‘hero’ Alinsky speaks of in his dedication in the book Rules for Radicals? (The phrase ‘foundation of the world’ , used by Christ and Paul come from the Greek word ‘katabolle’, and it means ‘casting down - overthrow.) One must go to Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 to get those details...of the over throw of the devil, although Peter describes it in IIPeter 3, and Jeremiah in chapter 4.

Noah's flood was for a specific cause ... Only Noah and his family were NOT infiltrated by the ‘sons of God’... Noah and his family were pure ... meaning the predesignated blood line to Christ would be preserved.

I find the ‘local flood’ theory plausible, given the dove found a ‘green olive leaf’ and that finding was not described as a miracle planting... It would take far longer than 150 days on the ark for an olive tree to be producing green leaves.

Spiders are unclean so they had 35,000 pairs of spiders? As well as 12,000 pairs of ants?

Is that what you are saying?

There are actually 950,000 species of insects. Even flying insects could not survive for 7 months outside the arc due to the earth being completely covered by water and having no place for insects to land.

So you are saying Noah house and fed all 950,000 species of insects on the ark. That is quite a feat to house and feed all those insects for 7 months.

That theory was deduced through pure mathematics, not direct observation, as in classical physics.

Just an aside to this discussion: while the theory was deduced through pure mathematics, the effect has been directly observed. One good example is the GPS satellite navigation system: to summarize, the entire thing works on VERY accurate clocks (atomic clocks with nanosecond accuracy). The high velocity of the satellites relative to the earth while (very much) below the speed of light, nonetheless introduces the predicted relativistic effects which are corrected using Einstein's equations.

[snip]... you may have heard that Robert Ballard (the same guy who discovered the Titanic) has proposed an alternate explanation for the flood legends. In 1999, he came forward with the claim that the creation of the Black Sea was the inspiration for the tale of Noah. According to his theory, this vast body of water was a small freshwater lake in a large fertile basin about 8,000 years ago, when suddenly a natural disaster caused a sudden inflow of salt water. Early humans who fled the incoming deluge concocted the story of the ark. [/snip]

Ballard didn’t propose this, William Ryan and Walter Pitman theorized it based on seafloor evidence and cores from the Black Sea. And they didn’t say the Ark story was concocted, they followed in many footsteps and claimed the OT authors merely plagiarized the entire Deluge story during the Babylonian Exile. Hope that helps.

http://www.google.com/search?q=ryan+and+pitman+site:freerepublic.com

Alright, then if Noah and his family had darker skin then where did white people come from?

My point is, how did one racially monolithic family create white, black, and asian people in just 3000 years, when they haven’t changed in the past 2000 years?

Ballard didn’t propose this, William Ryan and Walter Pitman theorized it based on seafloor evidence and cores from the Black Sea.

I knew that William Ryan and Walter Pitman first came up with the idea, but I couldn't remember their names (and decided it was too off-topic to research further). But I do remember Ballard playing a large role in investigation. In fact, I can even remember him holding a dramatic press conference and announcing to the world "We have discovered Noah's flood at the bottom of the Black Sea!"

And they didn’t say the Ark story was concocted, they followed in many footsteps and claimed the OT authors merely plagiarized the entire Deluge story during the Babylonian Exile.

I wasn't referring exactly to the Noah story, but as I recall, their claim was that all of the flood legends originate in the Black Sea deluge (which I dispute). I believe that the Babylonian Exile story was their attempt to explain the origins of Genesis (a claim I find very problematic, but again, that's getting off-topic...).

The geological and archaeological evidence is irrefutable. Sometime between 11,500 and 12,500 years ago, sea levels suddenly rose by 300 feet, worldwide.

I've heard that before, as well as that there is evidence at both the North and South poles of a huge surge in water levels at about the same time, indicating that a great flood happened somewhere in this time.

OTOH, some Old Earthers have claimed that this isn't the flood of Noah, but Earth in its water-covered state at Genesis 1:2, immediately following the fall of Lucifer a mass extinction took place and wiped everything out.

Not saying that that's true, but there's all sorts of weird mysteries from Earth's past that make for fascinating discussion...

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