The Line of Japheth
10: 2-5

The line of Japheth DIG: Why is Japheth mentioned first of the three brothers? How many nations resulted from the line of Japheth? What was the occupation of a majority of Japheth’s descendants? How did ADONAI show His love by keeping His covenant with Noah? In what sense did Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem?

We begin with the eldest of Noah’s three sons, Japheth. He is mentioned first, because he was the eldest, and then Ham, so that the genealogy of Shem, the youngest, can lead to Abraham without a break. Japheth’s descendants became the Indo-European people who settled east into parts of Asia, north into Europe, and westward into Spain. The line of Japheth produced the Caucasian and Oriental races. He had seven sons (10:2) seven grandsons (10:3-4), and fathered fourteen nations (to see link click Ae – The Number Seven).

Gomer fathered the Cimmerians who located southwest of the Black Sea. After being defeated by the Assyrians they settled in the area between Armenia and Cappadocia (Ezeki’el 38:2 and 39:6). They ultimately settled in places like Germany, France and Wales.

Magog was the second son. He located between the Black and Caspian Seas in what is now southern Russia. He is associated with both Meshech and Tubal in Ezeki’el 38:2 and Gomer and Togarmah in Ezeki’el 38:6. The Scythians, the Slavs, Russians, Bulgarians, Bohemians, Poles, Slovaks, and the Croatians came from Magog.

Madai was the third son. His descendants are mentioned in Second Kings 17:6, 18:11: Isaiah 13:17, 21:2; Jeremiah 25:25, 51:11 and 28. The Indians and the Iranic races such as the Medes, Persians, Afghans, and the Kurds all came from Madai, who located southwest of the Caspian Sea.

Javan was the fourth son and is pronounced Yavan in Hebrew. It is the source of the name Ionia from Homer’s Iliad and refers to the Hellenic race. These people settled along the coast of Asia Minor, which is Greece. They are mentioned in Isaiah 66:19 where they are connected with Tarshish and Tubal, and Ezeki’el 27:13 where they are connected with Meshech and Tubal. There is a Greek legend that says that Eipetos is the father of the Greeks and Eipetos is the Greek form of Japheth. So the Greeks, Romans, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italians all came from Javan.

Tubal was the fifth son and his descendants are the Tabali of the Assyrian inscriptions. They lived in east Asia Minor and included areas of Russia and as far north as Tobolsk on the Tobol River.

Meshech was the sixth son and are the Mushki of the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions. They are also mentioned in Egyptian literature. They located between the Black and Caspian Seas. The territory they settled was Russia, and they are always mentioned in conjunction with Tubal as seen in Ezeki’el 27:13, 32:26, 38:2-3 and 39:1.

Tiras was the last son (10:2). The Thracians, the Teutons, and the Anglo-Saxon race, the English people, came from Tiras. Seven more came from these seven.

Three northern tribes came from the sons of Gomer and the grandsons of Japheth: Ashkenaz was the first son of Gomer. The Jews identified Ashkenaz with Germany and, to this day, German Jews are called the Ashkenazi.¹⁸⁵ Their territories included Germany, Skandia, Sexon, Denmark and Armenia. They are mentioned in Jeremiah 51:27 in conjunction with Ararat and Minni.

Riphath was the second son of Gomer. In First Chronicles 1:6 his name is spelled Diphath because the r and the d are very much alike in Hebrew. They located on the southern edge of the Black Sea.

Togarmah was the third son and the ancestor of the Armenians, as they themselves claim (10:3). Other references to them are in Ezeki’el 27:14, where they were noted for exporting horses to Tyre, and in Ezeki’el 38:6, where they are part of the LORD’s army.

Then, the sons of Javan or Yavan, the grandsons of Japheth, were related to the Greeks: Elishah was the first son of Javan. They located in Cyrus and Crete.

Tarshish was the second son of Javan and means refinery. His descendants were located in southwestern Spain. Other references to them are found in First Kings 10:22, which says they were exporters of gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons; in Isaiah 23:1, where Tyre are connected with ships; in Jeremiah 10:9 where they were exporters of silver; Ezeki’el 27:12 where they were connected with Tyre and the export of silver, iron, tin and lead. This was the destination of Jonah (Jonah 1:3) and was also the place of Solomon’s trading ships (Second Chronicles 9:21).

Kittim was the third son mentioned, which is the Phoenician part of Cypress. Other references are in Numbers 24:24 which are associated with ships; Isaiah 23:1,where Tyre is destroyed, and Ezeki’el 27:6, where it is described as an island.

And Rodanim, or as sometimes pronounced Dodanim because the r and the d sound so much alike in Hebrew (First Chronicles 1:7), was the fourth son. They located in Greece and Macedonia (10:4).

From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories. This is stated to tell how it came about that the people were scattered so soon after the Flood, and it links up with the story of the Tower of Babel, which explains how the different languages arose. Moreover, it shows how ADONAI in His love kept His covenant with Noah and did not destroy his descendants. A majority of Japheth’s descendants made their living on the sea, in one way or another. They spread out both east and west, going as far as Europe in the west and Persia, India and most of Asia in the east. They spread out over so much territory, that they fulfilled the prophecy of 9:27 where Noah said: May God extend the territory of Japheth. Then they were divided by their clans within their nations and fourteen nations came from Japheth (10:5a). This shows they had some kind of social structure. The time span given here is three generations within fourteen nations. Each of these clans had its own language (10:5b). This proves that this was written after the dispersion of Chapter 11. These northern tribes did not figure predominantly in Israel’s history, but occur frequently in prophetic writings (Ezeki’el 27, 37-39).¹⁸⁶

As for Japheth and his descendants, the complete understanding of this prophecy can be seen in the translation of his name, which is beauty. In other words, the prophecy could be summarized, “Let Isra’el absorb all the beauty and cultural richness that the nations have to offer.” Since the descendants of Jatheth constitute the majority of the nations of the world, then out of those nations, ADONAI would gather a spiritual remnant who would believe in the God of Isra’el through the Messiah. Romans describes these non-Jewish believers as those who are grafted into Isra’el (see the commentary on Romans Cz – The Illustration of Isra’el’s Future). Furthermore, Ephesians 2:12 describes them as being part of the commonwealth of Isra’el. In this sense, then, we could say that Japheth would dwell in the tents of Shem (9;27).

This is the Account of Shem, Ham and Japheth,
Sons of Noah
10: 1

This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the Flood. This is what became of the sons of Noah. His three sons had no children before the Flood; all their children were born after the Flood. All humanity comes from these three sons. Most likely, the three sons went their separate ways after the traumatic events of 9:20-27, coming together again only to share in the burial ceremony of their father Noah. Shem had apparently taken over the task of recording the genealogies of the three families in the meantime. He continued until the time of the confusion of languages at Babel, after which he seems to have lost touch with his brothers.¹⁸⁴ Because the lineage in that patriarchal society was traced through the men, only the names of the men and their sons are listed in this chapter, leaving the names of their wives and daughters unknown to the biblical record.

The Table of Nations
10: 1-32

REFLECT: If someone were to write a brief, biblical account of your life, following the pattern of this chapter, how would it read? Fill in the blanks. “I was born in _________, to the parents who ___________________________________. The big accomplishment in my life is _______________________, as typified in my life’s motto, _________________________________.”

This chapter reflects the results of the Tower of Babel. So the events of Chapter 11 actually occurred before Chapter 10. Because the prideful people there were attempting to be like God (3:5), they were scattered throughout the world. As a result, the nations were born. But before God leaves those nations to themselves and begins to deal with Israel, His chosen people from Abraham forward, He takes a loving look at all the nations of the earth, as if to say, “I am going to leave you for a while, but I love you. I have created you, I have ordered your future, and a way of salvation will be provided for you.”¹⁷⁹

As Chapter 10 begins, Noah has died, but his sons are very much alive. The LORD had told Noah’s sons, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (9:1). They were obedient, and in the years that followed, the world was populated. ADONAI tells how the nations were born and how they were scattered, at first in the ancient Near East, but eventually, over all the earth. The nations of the then-known world are divided into three broad categories corresponding to the three sons of Noah.

Shem, as one of Noah’s sons most interested in God’s promise of the Seed of the Woman (3:15), would be the logical one to keep such a record. He lived for about 500 years after the Flood (11:10-11), which would have encompassed the entire period included in the birth of nations. It is significant that the sons of Ham and Japheth are given only to the third generation after the Flood, but Shem’s descendants extend to the sixth generation, indicating that he probably lost touch with the other branches of the family after the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel. His signature is attached in the subscript after he had written the account at Babel in 11:10.¹⁸⁰

Striking by their omission from the TaNaKh are references to a number of major ethnic or even racial groups. Most remarkable is the lack of any allusion to East Asians such as Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. Also missing are peoples such as Native Americans, Polynesians, Australian aboriginals, and others. Even such prominent shapers of ancient civilization as the Sumerians are bypassed in the Biblical record. The reason in each case is the fact that the Bible is a theological history oriented to a chosen people, and not a handbook describing ancient racial and ethnic distribution on a global scale.¹⁸¹

This chapter shows that all nations are of one blood. When we read the origin of all nations, we notice the difference between biblical and secular history. Too often the world emphasizes racial or cultural differences, but the Bible completely contradicts that notion with the knowledge that everyone is related to one another through Noah, or one of his sons Shem, Ham or Japheth. That is why Yeshua would say: Go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). The emphasis on our racial and cultural differences undermines this unity and runs counter to the LORD’s will for us. He basks in our rich cultural diversity and variety, which He has created. We need to learn to do the same.¹⁸²

This chapter shows that the nations are infected with a sin nature, the common disease of all mankind. There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:22). But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

This chapter shows that all nations have one way to salvation. The Bible teaches that ADONAI would work through Shem and the Jewish nation. He said to Abram: I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you (12:2a). But Elohim told Abram that salvation included the descendants of Ham and Japheth as well: All peoples on earth will be blessed through you (12:3b). The Seed of the woman (3:15), Jesus Christ, would come through Shem. He says to us today: I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).

How then must we, as believers, view the issue of the LORD and the different races of mankind? The answer lies in the unifying message of the gospel of Yeshua Messiah. The counterpart to the judgment that dispersed mankind at Babel, resulting in language and race distinction, is the healing of the feast of Weeks in which language confusion was overcome and peoples from every nation under heaven (Acts 2:5) were joined in common faith and fellowship. They returned to their homes still speaking their native tongues, observing their ethnic social customs, and bearing the genetic characteristics with which they had come to Yerushalayim. But they also went away realizing, as Rabbi Sha’ul would say later: There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (see the commentary on Galatians, to see link click Bn – There is Neither Jew nor Gentile in the Body of Messiah).¹⁸³

The Written Account of the Sons of Noah
10:1 to 11:9

Moses edited and compiled eleven family documents in the book of Genesis. The major structural word for Genesis is toldot, which means the written account of, or this is what became of these men and their descendants. The noun is often translated generations, histories or descendants. After the section on the written account of the generations of Noah from 6:9 to 9:29, we have the fifth toldot , the written account of the Sons of Noah. The previous toldot went from the judgment of the Flood to the blessing of saving Noah and his family; however, it also went from the blessing of Noah’s righteousness to the curse of Canaan. Therefore, what this fifth family document tells us is what became of Noah’s sons. And what became of Noah’s sons was they went from the blessing of being fruitful and multiplying to the curse of the Tower of Babel.

The name the LORD or ADONAI is used seven times in this section. Because this toldot ends in the divine judgment of a rebellious people, ADONAI emphasizes that He is the One who always exists, the God of redemption and mercy.

This section does not begin with the eldest son Shem, but deals with Japheth and Ham first to dispense with the non-Seed lines. Shem will be the line that the Seed of the woman (3:15), or the Messiah, comes through, so the descendants of Shem will be dealt with last.

The purposes of this section are to show divine providence in the distribution of the nations, to show the relationship of Isra’el to the other nations (Deuteronomy 32:8-9), and to show the unity of humanity.

With very few variations, this section is copied in First Chronicles 1:4-23 showing that it was quite historical. This document is quite unique in any Near Eastern ancient literature. There are several parallels to the early chapters of Genesis, but none to this chapter. It stands alone.

The names in Chapter 10 fall into four categories. First, some names are listed as individuals. Secondly, some names are listed as tribes. Thirdly, some names are listed as cities. And fourthly, some names are listed as nations.

The Death of Noah
9: 28-29

The death of Noah REFLECT: If you could write your own legacy to your family, what would it be? How do you want to be remembered? What can you do today to make that legacy happen?

Noah was not greatly affected by the atmospheric conditions after the Flood and after the Flood he lived 350 years. Altogether, Noah lived 950 years (9:28-29a). He lived longer than any of his ancestors except Jared (962 years) and Methuselah (969 years). Because there are no gaps in the genealogies of Genesis 11, this means that Noah continued living until Abraham was about fifty-eight years old. It is likely that Noah lived until after the dispersion of the nations at Babel.¹⁷⁷ Just as there were ten generations from Adam to Noah, so there were ten generations from Noah to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people.

Like Enoch, he had walked with God (5:21, 23, 6:9) earlier in his life. However, it is sobering that after his drunken stupor, the last 350 years of his life are silent. It is completely blank. Maybe if Noah had not fallen into sin after the Flood, perhaps God would have taken him away as He did Enoch (5:24). But in Noah’s case that was not to be. But Noah did not lose his salvation and his restoration was complete. I need to be very clear about that. His drunkenness was awful. There was no excuse for it and it was a weakness of the flesh. Nevertheless, he was a saved man (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). Still, the memory of what he had done remained to cloud the glory of his earlier days. Then, like his ancestors in Chapter 5, he died (9:29b).¹⁷⁸

The Sons of Noah Who Came Out of the Ark
were Shem, Ham and Japheth
9: 18-19

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark where Shem, Ham and Japheth REFLECT: In what area do you need a new beginning in your life today? How can you get it? How did Noah, Mrs. Noah, their sons and their wives get it?

Now we come to a new beginning. It is difficult for us today to realize what a world-shattering beginning it was. The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth (9:18a). Mankind had the opportunity to start a “new creation.” This was the record of the three sons of Noah (Genesis 5:32; 6:10; 7:13; 10:1 and First Chronicles 1:4). This statement connects this section with the Flood account.

Ham was the father of Canaan (9:18b). This statement connects this statement with the next section. Ham, acting as he did, showed that he was the true father of Canaan and how Noah came to curse Canaan for Ham’s sin.

These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth (9:19). This was a fresh start, a new beginning for mankind. All of humanity descended from these three men because Noah had no more sons after the Flood. While the Flood had wiped out sinful people, the sin nature of humanity remained in the heart of Noah and his children. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Would they be more successful in avoiding sin? The answer comes quickly.¹⁶⁸

Never Again Will There Be a Flood to Destroy the Earth
9: 8-17

Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth DIG: What aspects of this Noahic covenant are forever? Which are unconditional? What is its sign? What purpose does this sign serve? From elsewhere in the Bible, what do you know about other signs or seals of covenant commitments between God and His people? What does this covenant teach about the sanctity of life? How might this be especially important to Noah and his sons when they came out of the ark?

REFLECT: What symbolic rainbow have you experienced recently? In what area of your life does this passage bring you comfort? Where does it challenge you?

This covenant, this relationship, is established with two groups. First it is established with mankind. Then God said to Noah, “I now establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you” (9:8-9). This is the fulfillment of His promise in 6:18. Secondly, it includes the animal kingdom. Elohim said: I now establish My covenant with every living creature that was with you – the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature on the earth (9:10). The word covenant appears seven times in this section (9:8, 11-13, 15-17).

Then God spells out the promise of the covenant with Noah. I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth (9:11). There will never again be a universal Flood. However, the Bible teaches that after Jesus comes back to rule and reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years (Revelation 20:2), the heavens will disappear with a roar and the elements will be destroyed by fire (Second Peter 3:10). At that time, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth will have passed away (Rev 21:1).

Out of the covenant with Noah the rabbis developed the Seven Noachide Laws of Judaism. While Jews believe they receive salvation through the Torah, according to rabbinic theology, Gentiles receive salvation through the Seven Noachide Laws. These laws are the basis of Gentile salvation in Judaism, short of converting to Judaism.

There are seven basic categories. First there is justice. This involves establishing courts of law. It is imperative to pursue social justice and prohibit the miscarriage of justice. The second Noachide Law is blasphemy. This means not taking God’s name in vain and prohibits curses directed toward God. Thirdly, there is idolatry. This prohibits the worship of idols or planets. The fourth Noachide law is immorality, which prohibits adultery, incest, sodomy and bestiality. The fifth law is homicide, prohibiting both murder and suicide. The sixth is theft, which prohibits the taking of another’s property. The seventh law is the prohibition of eating the flesh of a living animal. It also prohibits the eating of any parts severed from a living animal. But, as usual, the rabbis were much more detailed with these seven laws.

In rabbinic thinking there are 613 commandments in the Torah for the Jews, and these seven categories for the Gentiles. The rabbis divided these into negative and positive commandments. The first category is justice and in rabbinic thinking it covers 20 of the 613 commandments. The second Noachide Law is blasphemy, which covers 8 of the 613. The third category, idolatry, covers 10 of the 613. The fourth category in the Noachide Law was immorality, and it covers 10 of the 613 laws of Moses. The fifth category has to do with homicide, and it has no categories because whatever would be classified under homicide has already been listed under the first category of justice or the next category of theft. The sixth Noachide Law of theft covers 16 of the 613. The seventh category has to do with eating the severed limbs of a living animal and covers two of the 613.

Then Elohim focuses on the sign of the covenant. He said: This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come (9:12). It is certainly heartbreaking that although many admire the beautiful rainbow, few any longer relate it with God’s promise, let alone believe that there ever was a universal Flood! But just as circumcision would later become the sign of the covenant with Abraham (17:11), and just as the Sabbath would become the sign of the covenant with Isra’el at Mount Sinai (Exodus 31:12-17), so also the rainbow is the sign of the covenant with Noah for all generations to come.

I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth (9:13). Before the Flood, the upper air contained only invisible water vapor, and therefore no rainbow was possible. With the new hydrological cycle following the Flood, the former vapor canopy was gone. It is physically impossible now for enough water ever to be raised into the atmosphere to cause a universal Flood. When a storm has done its worst and the clouds are finally exhausted of most of their water, then there always appears a rainbow, and so Elohim would have us remember again His great promise after the great Flood.¹⁶³ The Hebrew word for bow here is keshet, meaning battle bow or a bow of war. Later in the TaNaKh God referred to judgment storms by using the terms for bows and arrows. But here it is as if God hung up His bow of war on the clouds as a sign of peace.¹⁶⁴

Whenever I bring rain clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life (9:14-15). Here is another incidental reference to the universality of the Flood, since otherwise all land animals surviving a mere local flood would not have come under the terms of God’s covenant with Noah.¹⁶⁵

This is an unconditional divine promise. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth (9:16). So in the same way that the blood on the doorposts in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-13) served as a sign that judgment would be averted, the same is true here. Whenever Elohim would see the rainbow, He would remember His everlasting covenant and even though mankind was still sinful, judgment would be averted. The sign was well suited to fulfill the prime function of all covenant signs, which is reassurance. Like the later sign of circumcision, it was the seal (Romans 4:11) of an accomplished fact.¹⁶⁶

So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between Me and all life on the earth” (9:17). In the ancient Near East, covenant treaties were made after wars as a step toward embarking on peace. Similarly, Elohim, after judging sin, made a covenant of peace. It would certainly strengthen Isra’el to see God’s pledge in the skies and reassure them that He keeps His promise of grace.¹⁶⁷

Outside of Genesis and the covenant with Noah, the rainbow is found in three other places in the Bible: Ezeki’el 1:28 where it is part of the Sh’khinah glory (see the commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Ju – The Glory of the LORD Rises Upon You), Revelation 4:3 where it is also part of the Sh’khinah glory and, finally, when the Lord Jesus Christ himself comes back to claim authority over the world (Revelation 19:1-16), where, instead of a crown of thorns (which He wore on the cross), He will be robed in a cloud, with the rainbow above His head (Revelation 10:1). The Hebrew uses the definite article, the rainbow. This can scarcely refer to any other rainbow but My rainbow, the sign of the everlasting covenant between God and mankind.

Whoever Sheds Human Blood,
by Humans Shall Their Blood Be Shed
9: 1-7

Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed DIG: This is the second covenant that God entered into with Noah and his heirs. Why does God repeat for Noah much of what He told Adam? What new instructions does he add? How is this covenant different than the previous one (6:13 to 7:5)?

REFLECT: Have you ever been through a difficult time and felt like it was time to get on with your life? I am sure that is how Noah and his family felt. Do you believe that Elohim is concerned about every aspect of your life? Do you believe that every activity, except sin, can be done for God’s pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise? Why or why not?

For over a very long year God had been silent. But now He blessed Noah and his sons (9:1a). The name Elohim is used here, because He is the God of creation.YHVH uses much of the same language that He did with Adam as the provisions of the covenant are given. There were five aspects to this covenant.

First, Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth (9:1b). This section begins and ends with this same word for word phrase because there are several interesting parallels between Noah and Adam. Because Noah is the new Adam, so once again the earth is to be filled with humanity. Like Adam, Noah stands as the representative head of the human race. This is a reaffirmation of the covenant with Adam after God had created Adam and Eve. He said: Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth (1:28). Adam would have children, but at this point the provision to be fruitful and increase in number will be fulfilled by Noah’s three sons.

Secondly, there is now the fear of man in the animal kingdom. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that move along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea (9:2a). This was necessary to some degree because the animals, fish and birds became food for man. So, God creates a fear of mankind in the animal kingdom, so sensing mankind, the animal could flee and live. God said: they are given into your hands (9:2b). Thus, mankind retained his authority over the animal kingdom, much to the chagrin of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). But the command to subdue the earth is not repeated here as it is in 1:28 because the authority now belongs to Satan. When man fell, the Adversary usurped his authority.

Thirdly, there was to be a change in the human diet. Until now mankind was strictly vegetarian and animals were raised for clothing, dairy products and sacrifices. But now God said: Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything (9:3). There are no limits; all animals may now be eaten. If it moves, man could eat it. But with this permission, there was one restriction.

Fourthly, there was to be no eating of blood. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it, meaning the blood should be drained out before eating (9:4). This principle would be incorporated into the Torah. For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life (Leviticus 17:11; also see Deuteronomy 12:15-16 and 20-24). The life of an animal, spilled on the sacrificial altar, was accepted by God as a substitutionary death for the life of a guilty sinner, who deserved to die but who was permitted to live because of the sacrifice, whose blood covered his sins. The blood of animals could only figuratively cover sins, of course. The reality represented by the figure was the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26).¹⁶⁰

Fifthly, capital punishment was established as a result of the anarchy that had developed before the Flood (9:5-6). And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die (9:5 NLT). But the sanctity of blood is now taken a step further. Lest anyone believes that God held life as being cheap and that the taking of a life was a small matter as a result of the Flood’s destruction, God’s covenant with Noah shows that life is sacred and that people should not kill each other. This verse does not imply premeditation. As far as the Bible is concerned, it does not matter. Whether it was premeditated, or in a moment of passion, the Bible says that anyone who murders a fellow human must die (9:6a NLT). Or as the NASB translates it: Whoever sheds human blood by human blood their blood be shed. The Hebrew word for sheds is shaphak, and is used here for the first time in the Bible. It is often translated pour out, poured out or pouring out. It is frequently used of the pouring out of God’s wrath (Psalm 69:24), but it can also be used of the pouring out of the Ruach ha-Kodesh (Joel 2:28). It is used many times to refer to the pouring out of the blood of animals at the bronze altar of the Tabernacle or the Temple (Leviticus 4:30). It is the same word used by Christ on the cross, when He cried out: I AM poured out like water and all My bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within Me (Psalm 22:14).

The power to carry out this judgment of Elohim on a murderer (and other laws governing those human activities that, if left unregulated, could lead to murder) was, therefore, delegated to mankind (see my commentary on Exodus, to see link click Dp – You Shall Not Murder). This sets the stage for the Dispensation of Civil, or human, Government. Under God’s covenant with Noah, the death penalty was mandatory for the crime of murder. The purpose was and is not to deter crime, or not to reform anyone, but to punish the murderer. People today get distracted in the debate of rehabilitation. Does prison rehabilitate the murderer? Here, God says that is not the issue. And why is there retribution for the shedding of human blood? For God made human beings in His own image (9:6b NLT).

This verse not only stresses the sanctity of human life, but also reminds us of Jesus, who was most perfectly pictured in the image of God. The innocent blood of the Suffering Servant would be poured out as He made His life a guilt offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10).

But why doesn’t Elohim punish murderers Himself? Why delegate such an important job to an imperfect system run by imperfect people? We can be sure that when God does something like this, it is for our benefit. The LORD knows that we will take a far greater interest in maintaining justice and enforcing the laws if we have total responsibility for the system. Someone who owns their own business has greater buy-in than someone who simply works for a large firm. And as far as God is concerned, every great teacher knows the value of delegating responsibility. Even if the teacher can do something better than the student, it is important for the student to do things so they can learn. In other words, Elohim wants us to learn the value and skills of justice. He is a hands-on Mentor, but responsibility has been given to us and we are free to succeed or fail.¹⁶¹

Then we have a reaffirmation of the first provision as repeated in the first verse of this section. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it (9:7). In the Hebrew this is clearly the use of alliteration. But, the command to subdue the earth is not repeated here as it is in 1:28 because the authority now belongs to the evil one. When Adam fell, the great dragon usurped his authority. Therefore, man retains authority over the animal kingdom but not over the earth. Jesus calls the Adversary, “The prince of this world” (John 12:31); Rabbi Saul calls him: The god of this age (Second Corinthians 4:4), while Luke and John tell us that the Destroyer of souls has authority over the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:5-6; First John 5:19).

In essence, then, this covenant was established to ensure the stability of nature. It helped to guarantee the order of the world. People would also learn that civil, or human, law was necessary for the stability of life and that wickedness should not go unpunished as it had before. So civil, or human, government was brought in.¹⁶²

God’s Covenant With Noah
9: 1-17

For over a year God had been silent, but now He speaks to Noah in response to Noah’s sacrifice in faith that was pleasing to Him after leaving the ark. There is a fresh start for humanity. The Dispensation of Conscience is over and the Dispensation of Civil Government had begun. Mankind would govern itself. We see some of this in God’s covenant with Noah.

Then Noah Built an Altar to the LORD
and He Sacrificed Burnt Offerings On It
8: 20-22

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and He sacrificed burnt offerings on it DIG: Why do you think ADONAI has decided not to destroy the human race again, even though mankind is still evil? To what future and final solutions does God’s mercy point? What is the LORD’s evaluation of the basic nature of mankind?

REFLECT: What motivates you to worship God? What is more important, method or motivation? Why? How do you make a pleasing aroma to ADONAI?

The first thing Noah did was to build an altar to ADONAI, to thank Him for His gracious protection and pray for His mercy in the future. This is also the first mention in the Bible of the word altar. At this point the garden of Eden has been destroyed by the Flood. They no longer had the visible Sh’khinah presence to whom they could bring their offering. So, Noah sets the pattern that will eventually be written down in the book of Leviticus and builds an altar.

Noah sacrificed some of the clean animals and clean birds, probably the seventh of every kind that he had taken into the ark (8:20a). The idea of cleanness in the TaNaKh is rooted in the holiness of ADONAI. Certain animals were set apart for worship, they were the clean animals. The LORD looked upon these with favor. However, others were not to be used for worship because they were deemed unclean and unacceptable to Him. Earlier, Cain had brought an unacceptable offering to the LORD, while He looked with favor on Abel and his offering (4:4-5). Noah was fully aware of the oral tradition of the system of worship that would eventually be written down by Moses in the book of Leviticus. Therefore, his offering was not only acceptable because clean animals and birds were used, but also because Noah sacrificed burnt offerings on the altar (8:20b). Burnt offerings were a voluntary act of worship and atoned for unintentional sin in general. They were an expression of devotion, commitment and complete surrender to the LORD (see my commentary on Exodus, to see link click Fe – The Burnt Offering). The burnt offering had to be a bull, ram or male bird, a dove or a young pigeon for the poor. Noah was to burn all of it on the altar. It was a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to ADONAI (Leviticus 1:6-9).

The LORD is pictured as smelling the pleasing aroma of Noah’s offering (8:21a). Sacrificed animals do not atone for sin, as the writer to the Hebrews states so beautifully: it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). Only Christ can do that. So before the Messiah came, the sins of TaNaKh believers were temporarily set aside when they brought an acceptable offering as Abel had done. On what basis was their sin set aside? It was their faith. When they brought their offering, it demonstrated their faith because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The reason the aroma of the burnt animal was pleasing to the LORD, was that it represented faith. And ADONAI said in His heart, indicates that it was something that He was going to commit Himself something. But, it had both a negative and a positive aspect.

Negatively, He promised this: Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood (8:21b). This is the LORD’s way of saying that mankind has a sin nature. This becomes the source of the rabbinic doctrine of the evil inclination. The rabbis teach that everyone is born with an evil inclination and a good inclination. But the evil inclination often gains mastery over the good inclination. While Judaism does not believe that man has a sin nature, it comes close with this concept of the evil inclination. But in spite of that fact that every inclination of man’s heart is evil from childhood, ADONAI promised that He would never again destroy all living creatures, as He had done with the Flood. The LORD had taught mankind that sin inevitably brings judgment. Destroying mankind every few generations would serve no useful purpose.

Positively, as long as the earth endures, certain things will never cease. In essence, ADONAI promised to continue the cycle of seasons because, in this cycle, He would reveal essential sanctification truths through the Jewish festivals (see the commentary on Leviticus Dw – God’s Appointed Times). These High Holy Days correspond to the physical seasons. In addition, these festivals would be prophetic in nature and picture the First and Second Comings of His Son (see the commentary on Leviticus Ed – The Four-Month Interval).

He mentions four things. First, seed time and harvest, secondly, cold and heat, thirdly, summer and winter, and fourthly, day and night. As long as the earth exists, the cycle of life will continue (8:22). This is what Jeremiah calls the covenant with day and night (Jeremiah 31:35-37, 33:17-26). The rabbis teach that this oath would only be enforced as long as the earth lasts. But in the last days, ADONAI will destroy the earth completely and renew it, and at that time He will not be restrained by this oath. This closely resembles the view of Peter in the New Covenant. The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men (Second Peter 3:7). After the thousand-year rule of Jesus Christ on this earth, there will be a new heaven and new earth, for the first heaven and first earth will have passed away (Revelation 21:1).

The rabbis teach that after YHVH made these promises to Noah, He outlined to Noah, and to the future generations which would come from him, some of their responsibilities. In fact, the rabbis see a total of seven stipulations from these verses . They call these torahs, the Seven Commandments given to the descendants of Noah. The Torah of Moshe, the rabbis assert, was given to Isra’el; obedience to these seven mitzvot alone was, in ancient times, also required on non-Jews living among the Israelites, or attaching themselves to the Jewish community. The seven mitzvot are:

1. the establishment of courts of justice
2. prohibition of blasphemy
3. prohibition of idolatry
4. prohibition of incest
5. prohibition of murder
6. prohibition of robbery
7. prohibition of eating fresh cut meat of a living animal (eating of blood)

It is important to note the similarity between these seven mitzvot and the four requirements the Messianic Community placed upon the non-Jewish believers who were coming into the believing community in Acts 15:20. The non-Jews were, in essence, being asked to follow all the traditional guidelines any Jewish community would have asked of its non-Jewish members. Interestingly enough, in the next verse to says, Moshe “is read in the synagogues every Shabbat.” In other words, they were telling the new non-Jewish believers that they had to follow these minimal guidelines as equal participants in their communities. If there was a desire to learn and do more, their leadership told them how to do so – they just had to go to the synagogue where they would hear the teachings of Moshe (Sanhedrin 56 a-b)!

Although there would never again be a worldwide judgment there would be a perpetual testimony that could be clearly seen by all mankind yet to come. The testimony of the Flood is seen everywhere in the structure of the rocks of the earth’s surface, the worldwide fossil graveyard, and the universal evidence of catastrophism. Man’s sin nature has distorted both into a system of evolution and uniformitarianism. But the Bible says that even though they deliberately forget they are still held accountable (Second Peter 3:5) because what may be known about God is plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Romans 1:19-20). Mankind is held accountable because the evidence is everywhere for all who have eyes to see. The Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9b).

ADONAI was going to make a covenant, or an agreement, with Noah. We will see this new beginning as we begin the next chapter. This covenant is a very important one. When God made it with Noah, He made it with you and me and the entire human family that is on the earth today.¹⁵⁹

All the Animals and All the Creatures
Came Out of the Ark, One Kind After Another
8: 18-19

All the animals and all the creatures come out of the ark, one kind after another REFLECT: Are you more of a doer or a talker? Do you find yourself picking and choosing the areas of your obedience with God? Or is your heart eager to please in all the areas of your life? Can you identify this fruit of obedience? What is or has been the fruit of disobedience in your life? What can or did you do about it?

Waiting for the LORD’s timing is one of the most difficult things we have to do. Noah and his family had been in the ark for about a year. They must have really wanted to get off that ark! But Noah waited for ADONAI to show him when he should leave.¹⁵⁸ Just as he had been obedient when God had told him to build the ark, here Noah was obedient to go out of the ark. Noah had not uttered one word. He was a doer more than a talker. So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. This is the last of five times Mrs. Noah is mentioned in the Bible (6:18; 7:7 and 13, 8:16 and 18). No one knows where she stood with Elohim, but the question is one she needed to answer. Did she side with her neighbors or with her husband? There was no middle ground. The fact that they were still married after all the stress they had been through spoke volumes. As one of eight that was saved, we must believe that she was a righteous, blameless, obedient servant of God.

All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds – everything that moves on the earth – came out of the ark, one kind after another (8:18-19). Our love of God is made clear as we obey Him. Yeshua said: Whoever has My commands and obeys them, is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love them and show Myself to them (John 14:21). This does not teach that our works save us; rather it teaches that the one who believes and obeys Christ’s Word is loved by Him. Saving faith comes from obedience: the obedience that comes from faith (Romans 1:5).

Bring Out Every Kind of Living Creature
from the Ark so They Can Multiply on the Earth
8: 15-17

Bring out every kind of living creature from the ark so they can multiply on the earth DIG: How did the Flood affect Mrs. Noah? What similarities are there between Chapter 8 and Chapter 1? Were there any animals that died during their time on the ark? Were any born? What happened to the dinosaurs?

REFLECT: Do you need a fresh start with God in a certain area of your life? Are you full of hope today or full of despair? Where does the despair come from (John 10:10)? ADONAI is ready to guide and bless those who are faithful to Him! When was the last time you obeyed God’s Word and were saved from the heartache of sin?

Noah now takes his place as the head of the human race, the same position that Adam had. There was to be a new beginning, a fresh start, full of hope and with every divine guarantee of blessing. Sin had been punished, grace was working, and God was ready to guide and bless those through whom the earth was to be repeopled and ruled.¹⁵⁶

A year and seventeen days earlier, ADONAI said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household” (7:1 NKJ). Now He says to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives” (8:15-16). This is the fourth of five times Mrs. Noah is mentioned in the Bible (6:18; 7:7 and 13, 8:16 and 18). The Flood brought deep personal loss for Mrs. Noah. The waters that covered the earth swept away the only world she had even known – the life Noah had worked so hard to build. Friends, relatives, her home, her community, and her way of life were all gone. Everything was lost. Like the Titanic in reverse, the world sank beneath the waves, and only the massive ark remained afloat. She faced the daunting task of starting over in her old age. It might be different if she were famous, or young. But she was neither.

These two commands are not conflicting, but complementary, reminding us of the two complementary commands of Jesus during His ministry here on earth: Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). This command prepared the way for the great command: Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation (Mark 16:15). The ark had been like a great sheep pen, with Messiah being pictured as the door, through whom the sheep will come in to be saved, but also go out and find pasture (John 10:9).

As stated earlier, the period after the Flood marks a new beginning for mankind. To emphasize this, the Holy Spirit has deliberately structured the new beginning in Chapters 8 and9 to coincide with the new beginning of Chapter 1.

In 8:1 God sent a wind over the earth, and in 1:2 the Spirit (the Hebrew word for Spirit and wind are the same) of Elohim was hovering over the waters.

In 8:2 the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and in 1:7 God separated the water under the expanse from the water above it.

In 8:5 the waters continued to recede and the tops of the mountains became visible, and in 1:9 Elohim said: Let the water under the sky be gathered, and let dry ground appear.

Here in 8:17a God said: Bring out every living kind of creature that is with you – the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground, and in 1:25 God made the wild animals, the livestock and all the creatures that move along the ground.

None were lost on the ark, but also, none were born. This is why I believe that many of the animals went into hibernation during the year that they were in the ark. It is not until it had rested that God said that the birds, animals and all the creatures that move along the ground should multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it (8:17b). Because the entire earth was open to them, and because of the lack of competition, this allowed the animal population to multiply very quickly. Each species kept searching until it found an ecological area for which it was better suited than the others.

What happened to the dinosaurs after the Flood? After the animals were released from the ark they began to repopulate the earth. The dinosaurs lived for at least a few centuries after the Flood, but probably never in the great numbers that there had once been. No one knows exactly when they finally died out. The earth was a very different place after the Flood. When Noah stepped off the ark, it must have felt like he was on another planet. Nothing looked familiar. All the landmarks were gone. The Garden of Eden was gone forever. Mud and rock were everywhere. Because the canopy that had enveloped the earth was gone, great thicknesses of snow and ice began to build up near the polar regions. These eventually formed ice sheets covering northern Europe and reaching down into the northern third of the United States. Because of this Ice Age, many parts of the world became too harsh for dinosaurs. No longer did the earth have the same great forest of huge nutritious plants. It would have been hard for the dinosaurs to locate enough food as they got bigger and bigger. All these changes probably caused the dinosaurs to die off.¹⁵⁷

Then God said to Noah: Come Out of the Ark
8: 15-19

For over a year God had been silent, but now He commanded Noah and his family to leave the ark. All other human life had been destroyed in the Flood. Now Noah’s three sons and their wives would repopulate the earth. Although the rest of humanity had been judged, Noah and his family were saved. None had been lost. The LORD brought them through the judgment of the Flood by telling them exactly how to escape it and live. They believed Him and obeyed. Throughout the long history of mankind, ADONAI has always rescued those who believe in Him and obey His word. Because God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (First Thessalonians 5:9).

The animals shared Noah’s deliverance and because they entered the ark with him, they also left with him. They were also rescued from the Flood and now they could resume their charge to multiply and increase in number (9:19). ADONAI would soon bless Noah and his sons with a similar command. But before that blessing was spoken the aged patriarch would worship the LORD by building an altar to Him and sacrificing offerings on it. Worship and fellowship would blend in joyful celebration as a redeemed man and a redeeming God communed together.¹⁵⁵

The Dispensation of Civil Government
8:14 to 11:32

The third dispensation is called the Dispensation of Civil, or human, Government. It is called that because it is with this particular dispensation that man is given the right of life or death. He is given the authority to rule others. The concept of ruling and having power to execute or not to execute contains within it the concepts of human government. The principle is whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made human beings in His image (9:6). Therefore, man is given the authority to execute the murderer, and this carries with it the concept of rule, authority and government.

There are seven dispensations described in the Bible: (1) the Dispensation of Innocence or Freedom (Genesis 1:28 to 3:5); (2) the Dispensation of Conscience or Self-Determination (Genesis 3:6 to 8:14), (3) the Dispensation of Civil Government (Genesis 8:15 to 11:32), (4) the Dispensation of Promise or Patriarchal Rule (Genesis 12:1 to Exodus 18:27), (5) the Dispensation of Torah (Exodus 19:1 to Acts 1:26), (6) the Dispensation of Grace (Acts 2:1 to Revelation 19:21), and (7) the Dispensation of the Messianic or Millennial Kingdom (Isaiah 4:2-6, 11:1 to 12:6, 54:11-17, 60:1-22).

The chief person in this dispensation is Noah. He received new specific divine revelation that told him exactly how this dispensation would be run.

Man’s responsibility was to obey the Covenant, or agreement with Noah.

The test during that dispensation was to rule properly, but they were not to unite under one government, and they were to disperse over all the earth.

But then came the failure. Man tried to unify, using the Tower of Babel as its center. It was both literal and symbolic. Literally, the Tower of Babel was an attempt to build a high tower for the purpose of studying the stars. They wanted to try to reach into the heavens, not to study astronomy, but to study astrology. In reality, they wanted to replace the LORD as the creator and center of the universe and put themselves in His place. They did not believe in the worship of one God, so they started worshiping many gods, which is polytheism. That was the physical purpose of the Tower of Babel. The symbolic purpose was to deliberately disobey the command to spread all over the world. The purpose of the Tower of Babel was to serve as a center of attraction, to keep humanity together so that they would not spread out and lose contact with each other. They wanted to build an empire. Nimrod was an empire builder and he was going to be at the center of it, not ADONAI.

As a result of the failure came the judgment, which was the confusion of tongues. Because of their rebellion against God and His authority, He confused their language. Their common language kept them together. Japanese tend to live around other Japanese people because they can communicate. It tends to make a country cohesive. With the lack of a common language there is turmoil, confusion, conflict and possibly war. By causing the confusion of language, the LORD forced a separation. Groups of people found others who could speak the same language and they moved to another part of the world to separate themselves from those they could not understand. Thus God accomplished His original desire in the Covenant with Noah.

Grace was displayed in the way ADONAI preserved His remnant. The specific remnant that God preserved is listed after the Tower of Babel incident. Chapter 11 traces the genealogy of Noah and Shem all the way down to Abraham, with whom the LORD will begin His next dispensation. So, Elohim did preserve a remnant who will be the followers of the One true God during this dispensation. The promise He made about the seed of the woman (3:15), continued to be preserved in spite of the Flood and the Tower of Babel. God preserved the unique seed line through which the promise of Christ would be fulfilled.¹⁵⁴

By Noah’s Six Hundred and First Year, 
the Water Had Dried Up from the Earth
8: 6-14

By Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth DIG: Why did Noah send out a raven first? Why was a dove chosen instead of another bird? Why was the olive branch significant?

REFLECT: What kind of bird are you? Are you a raven or a dove? If you are a believer, do you have both natures? Which one are you living today? Do you love the things of God, or the things of the world (First Yochanan 2:15-17)?

While some people consider the Bible account of the Flood to be a myth, others cite evidence that the ark still exists. For example, in 1943 Ed Davis, a sergeant in the United States Army developed friendships with Lourd tribesmen who took him to their village near Mt. Ararat. From the village he could see in the distance something that they claimed to be the ark. Davis reported to have seen in the village items from the ark: a cage door, a shepherd staff, a metal hammer, dried beans, and so on.

In 1953 George Greene, an oil geologist, took several photographs from a helicopter of what appeared to be the ark. Though he has died and his photos are not available, more than thirty people have given sworn, written testimony that they saw his photos that showed the ark protruding from ice on Mt. Ararat.

In the late 1950s Gregor Schwinghammer claimed he saw the ark from an F-100 aircraft. He said it resembled a huge boxcar lying high on Mt. Ararat.¹⁵⁰

After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark (8:6). This was the beginning of the end of the Flood. This window is not the side door (6:16), but a hatch (hallon), presumably on the ark’s roof or side.¹⁵¹ The forty days correspond to the forty days during which the rain fell and the waters rose; and Noah might assume that they would require the same time to recede as to rise.¹⁵²

And sent out a raven, which is an unclean bird. They are black, wild birds and are specifically mentioned in the Torah (Leviticus 11:15; Deuteronomy 14:14; Job 38:41; Psalm 147:9; Proverbs 30:17). Yet we are told that God feeds the ravens in Luke 12:24, and by a divine act they fed Elijah in First Kings 17:6. The raven, being an unclean animal, went out into the world and ate from the carcasses floating on the water. And it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth (8:7). It did not return to the ark. The mountain peaks were then visible and it could rest there.

Then he sent out a dove, which is a clean animal. They are white and have been domesticated. In the Scriptures it is used as a positive symbol. It is used as a symbol of the eyes of youth (Song of Solomon 1:15, 4:1, 5:12) and also a symbol of love (Song of Solomon 2:14, 5:2, 6:9). The dove is able to fly long distances (Psalm 55:6; Isaiah 60:8; Hosea 11:11). The purpose was to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground (8:8). The raven and the dove provide an important lesson for all of us.

The Bible teaches that the believer has two natures, an old and a new nature: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (Second Corinthians 5:17). The clean and the unclean are together. You and I as believers have these two natures. Jesus said: Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:6). And Rabbi Saul writes: I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature, for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out (Romans 7:18). Paul spoke of this struggle between the old nature, the raven, and the new nature, the dove, in the life of a believer.

The raven went out into the world and feasted on dead carcasses. Back and forth, he restlessly went up and down. This is a picture of the old nature because it loves the things of this world and feasts on them (First John 2:15-17). That is the reason people make excuses for the bad things they do. Does this mean you have to be perfect? No, certainly not. But you do have an old nature and you need to confess your sins (First John 1:8-10), not make excuses for them. As Kefa (Hebrew for “rock”) wrote: Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul (First Peter 2:11).

The dove, on the other hand, went out into a judged world, but she found no rest, no satisfaction and she returned to the ark. The dove represents the believer in this world. The raven went out into the world and loved it. When he found those old dead carcasses, he probably thought the millennium had arrived! But we are supposed to be in the world, not of the world (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Kz – Your Word is Truth). We are supposed to live in it, but not fall in love with it. The dove recognized what kind of world she was in and she found no rest. The only rest for us in this world is in Christ.¹⁵³

But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth. Doves will only land where it is dry and clean. They also prefer valleys to mountains. Even the tops of the mountains, which had by now appeared, were so saturated that they offered no resting place for the dove. So, its return signaled that the valleys were still flooded. So it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark a second time (8:9-10).

When the dove returned to him in the evening, having remained out longer than before, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! The rabbis teach that the leaf was brought from the garden of Eden. Olive trees only grow on the lower slopes of the mountains. The valleys were still flooded, but Noah knew that the water was almost gone and had receded from the earth (8:11).

He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again a third time, but this time it did not return to him because the earth was dry by then (8:12). Even the valleys had dried up. The judgment was over, and peace had returned to the earth.

Noah was then 601 years old. On the first day of the new year (the month of Tishrei), ten and a half months after the flood had begun, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering, or part of the roof, from the ark and saw that the surface was dry (8:13). In a very real sense, the period after the Flood marks a new beginning for the human race. It is again the first day of the first month of the first year of mankind’s new life. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry (8:14). When Noah left the ark mankind would enter into a new dispensation.

But God Remembered Noah
and all the Animals and Livestock with Him in the Ark
8: 1-5

But God remembered Noah and all the animals and livestock with him in the ark DIG: How did the waters dry up after the Flood? Was any of Noah’s family lost? Were any of the wild animals or the livestock that were with Noah in the ark lost?

REFLECT: When has God remembered you and intervened on your behalf? When did you get a fresh start with God? What did you do with it? What does the fact that none were lost in the ark have to do with you?

Chapter 8, verse 1 is the defining moment of the Flood story, the pivot on which the story turns. Up to this point things were getting steadily worse, but from this point on things gradually get better. And the reason they get better is because God remembered Noah. For five long months Noah and his family and all the animals rode out the flood. During that time, they saw no dry land at all. They must have had the sinking feeling that God had forgotten them. But just when all seemed lost, Elohim remembered Noah (8:1a).

To remember in the biblical sense is not to recall to mind or to refresh one’s memory. Rather it means to lavish God’s loving care upon someone and to intervene on his or her behalf.¹⁴⁷ This is like when Sampson called to God, “Adonai ELOHIM, just this once, please, think of me, and please, give me strength, so that I can take revenge on the Philistines for gouging out my two eyes” (Judges 16:28 CJB). In Your love, intervene on my behalf. Or when Hannah wanted to be remembered as she wept, praying: ADONAI, the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to ADONAI for all the days of his life (First Samuel 1:11). In Your love, intervene on my behalf. Or when the thief on the cross said: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42). In Your love, intervene on my behalf. In that sense . . . God remembered Noah.

And all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark. Thousands of years later, an angel of God would say to Paul, who was in a ship on the wind-tossed Mediterranean Sea: God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you (Acts 27:24). As the salt of the earth (Mattityahu 5:13), God’s people can protect and influence those around them for good.

Creation started all over again; it was a fresh start. In 1:2b we read that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Here He sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded (8:1b). Here we see the use of the creation themes of Chapters 1 and 2 where water recedes, dry land appears and vegetation grows. The LORD uses the wind to evaporate the water, but He could have accomplished that same result by merely speaking: Who says to the watery deep, “Be dry, and I will dry up your streams” (Isaiah 44:27). During a furious storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus rebuked the winds and the waves and they became completely calm. Unable to recognize who He was, the apostles said: What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him (Matthew 8:23-27)!

The two sources of water for the Flood were then stopped. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky (8:2). This is the first time that God delivered His people through water; another time was through the Red Sea (Exodus Chapter 14).

Once these two sources were stopped, the water receded steadily from the earth (8:3a). The Hebrew word for receded is shuwb, which means return or returned. The waters returned both downward and upward by means of evaporation (Psalm 104:6-9). The result was that at the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had receded. Obviously, water did not completely cease to exist, but merely returned to its former position in streams, rivers, lakes and oceans.

And on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (Nisan) the ark came to rest on the mountains, or mountain range, of Ararat (8:4), in what is today northeastern Turkey on the Russian border. Aviv is the first month of the year in the Torah, and was later called Nisan in Esther 3:7 and Nehemiah 2:1, and in subsequent post-exilic history up to this present day. It is significant that the ark is said to come to rest, as though it had been laboring for five months in accomplishing its work of saving its occupants from sin and judgment.¹⁴⁸ The ark rested on the same day that Jesus rose from the dead. During Noah’s lifetime, the Hebrew month of Nisan was the seventh month. At that time God had ordained an agricultural calendar that started in September-October with the month of Tishri. It was the first month of their calendar year and the month of Nisan, which was in the spring, March-April, was the seventh month. But at the time of the Passover, ADONAI said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month of Nisan is to be for you the first month of your year” (Exodus 12:2). Thus, from the time of the first Passover, the Jews had two calendars, an agricultural calendar that started in the fall and a religious calendar that started in the spring. The use of two calendars continued up until after the Babylonian exile. Today the Jewish calendar uses only one calendar that begins in the fall with the month of Nisan.

As a result, Nisan, which had been the seventh month in the Jewish calendar in the days of Noah, had become the first month in the Life of Christ. The Passover was on Friday the fifteenth of Nisan (Exodus 12:18), the same day where Yeshua was also crucified. Two days later Yeshua rose from the dead, on Sunday the seventeenth day of Nisan. The ark rested from its work on the same day that Messiah rested from His work of redemption (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ix – The Examination of the Lamb).

The placement and the timing of the ark was no accident. Both had a purpose. Why was it put in a place that almost defies access even today with our modern technology? Its highest peak is 16,946 feet above sea level and most of the year it is under ice. You would have thought a lush valley would have been more appropriate! The ark stood in Noah’s driveway for 120 years as a testimony to an unbelieving world. I think it might emerge again, in God’s own timing, as a testimony to another unbelieving world or another coming judgment.

The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible (8:5). Noah, his family and the animals remained in the ark for many months before they could leave it. They were not out of danger. In one way of looking at it, Noah’s experience at the top of one of the mountains of Ararat is no less frightening than that of Moses at the top of Mount Sinai. Both find themselves at the top of a mountain that is either enveloped in a rainstorm or an electrical storm. For Noah, as the waters went down, his hopes went up.¹⁴⁹ Eventually, the earth began to dry out. The earth had had a mikvah, and was washed and cleansed.

The Flood Waters Receded 
and the Ark Came to Rest on Mount Ararat
8: 1-14

ADONAI had protected Noah and his family from judgment so cataclysmic that all life on earth outside the ark had been destroyed. For forty days, torrential rains beat down and the ark floated on the rising floodwaters. Day after day Noah waited. The LORD had shut him in the ark for his own safety. But for how long? And when he could finally leave the ark, what would he find?

Well, God remembered Noah and led his family and him into a fresh start. Gradually, the floodwaters subsided, and after one year and seventeen days in the ark, Noah led his family and the animals out of the ark onto dry ground. The Flood had not destroyed the world, but it was radically changed. It was truly a fresh start, starting with Noah’s worship and with Elohim communicating to Noah a covenant that is still with us today.¹⁴⁶

Fission Tracks and the Flood
Evidence for Accelerated Decay

Technical Definitions:

· Fission Tracks: As more and more uranium atoms “split” (fission), more and more fission tracks are produced.

· Zircon: a crystal containing uranium and thorium. Zircons are radioactive and important minerals for radioisotope dating.

Like radiohalos, fission tracks are another permanent record of nuclear decay within zircon crystals. They were first seen in a microscopic examination of rocks that had been exposed to radiation. The tracks result when a heavy unstable atom spontaneously fissions or splits into small atoms. The split fragments fly apart at a high speed in opposite directions. Under a microscope, these damage trails can be clearly seen. These are called fission tracks. The number of fission tracks is an observable physical measure of how much nuclear decay (fission) has occurred. We should not be able to find these today. The fact that they are found at all it means the fission tracks developed very quickly. This is further evidence of accelerated decay.

Tuff is calcareous and siliceous rock deposits of springs, lakes or ground water. Rock samples taken from Peach Springs Tuff, and Kingman, Arizona show fission tracks equal to 21 million years’ worth of nuclear decay at today’s rate of fission. Other rock samples taken from Morrison Formation Tuff, near Blanding, Utah show fission tracks equal to 136 million years’ worth of nuclear decay at today’s rate of fission. In addition, fission tracks equal to between 75 and 500+ million years’ worth of nuclear decay at today’s rate of fission were found in rock samples from Tapeats Sandstone Tuff, in the western Grand Canyon, Arizona. These samples were contracted out to an impartial commercial laboratory with world-class expertise in fission track analysis. The name of the company is GeoTrack International Laboratory, located in Melbourne, Australia.¹⁴³

These fission tracks and radiohalos have provided a visible microscopic record of nuclear decay in crystals today.¹⁴⁴ In the young earth view, these give evidence for accelerated decay, especially during the Flood; this evidence is the rocks with zircon crystals have not experienced serious heating since the fission tracks and the radiohalos were formed. Just hundredths of degrees are necessary to erase the fission tracks and the radiohalos, yet they remain. It is difficult to conceive the rock formations remaining cool over vast ages of time with accompanying episodes of volcanic and tectonic activity.¹⁴⁵ In the young earth view, the fission tracks and the radiohalos remain fairly recent because they were made only about 4,500 years ago.

Fission track dates provide us with information on the thermal history of rocks. In other words, they give us the time since the rock cooled and provide evidence for a recent creation because the rocks have not experienced the degree of heating since the tracks were formed. In the young earth view, these fission tracks are like fingerprints that give evidence of accelerated decay, especially during the Flood.

Lastly, the newest data in carbon-14 dating, helium diffusion, radiohalos and fission tracks is now firmly on the side of the young earth view of history. There is One Creator of the universe.

Science and the Bible are compatible. You do not have to choose.

Radiohalos and the Flood
Evidence for Accelerated Decay

Radiohalos formed rapidly under catastrophic conditions like the Flood offer strong evidence for accelerated decay.

Technical Definitions:

● Radiohalos: a zone of discoloration surrounding zircons caused by radioactive decay in certain rocks, especially granites.

● Zircon: a crystal containing uranium and thorium. Zircons are radioactive and important minerals for radioisotope dating.

In 1907 the Irish geologist John Joly first noticed a connection between radiation and “burn marks” in crystals. These burn marks are radioactive halos and are called radiohalos. When rocks are put under tremendous pressure and heat, they melt, and then as they cool, they solidify. As this cooling process takes place, radioactive uranium and thorium atoms cluster within the mineral zircon. (The zircon crystals were introduced in the last section). Over time, the radioactive atoms within the zircon will experience decay, sending alpha particles outward randomly in all directions. When zircon crystals are large, those of 50 or more microns, the alpha particles are trapped within it and become helium atoms. (This was discussed in the previous section). Other zircon crystals are much smaller, less than a single micron in diameter. Alpha particles in these crystals are ejected out of the zircon and pass into the surrounding rock. The ejected alpha particles are like tiny bullets that damage the structure of the surrounding rock, discoloring it. These bullets travel different distances into the surrounding rock. The result is a starburst pattern of alpha particles moving outward from the radiocenter, often with multiple rings occurring.¹⁴¹

A large number of alpha particles are needed to form a visible radiohalo. It has been determined that to form a full dark radiohalo takes about 500 million to 1 billion alpha particles. This amounts to about 100 million years of decay at today’s decay rates. But these radiohalos were formed under extreme temperatures of about 150 degrees Centigrade (or 302 degrees Fahrenheit). In addition, if the rock is reheated at a later time, the radiohalos will fade and disappear as the crystal atoms realign themselves and repair the crystal defects. Granites around the world contain dark radiohalos.¹⁴²

Radiohalos are made up of either uranium or polonium, but there is a mystery surrounding these polonium radiohalos. The unstable polonium radiohalos have only short existences or decay rates. For example, polonium-218 has a 3-minute existence, polonium-210 has a 138-day existence and polonium-214 has a 164-microsecond existence.

Since polonium is such a rare element, where did it come from to form polonium radiohalos? The only nearby source is the uranium as it decays into polonium in the zircons, which is also generating the uranium radiohalos in the same rock. So the uranium and polonium radiohalos had to form at the same time. But the uranium decay has to deliver enough polonium to generate 500 million to 1 billion alpha particles to form each dark radiohalo before the polonium decays! Coexisting uranium and polonium radiohalos in many types of granite around the world are observable physical evidence that abundant nuclear decay has occurred at an accelerated rate. The very fact that we can find radiohalos means that they had to form very rapidly under extreme pressure. Their formation had to occur rapidly under catastrophic conditions like the creation or the Flood. Therefore, the existence of radiohalos is strong evidence for accelerated decay, and a young earth.

Helium Diffusion and the Flood
Evidence for Accelerated Decay

Helium diffusion in radioactive crystals shows that the earth is only about 6,000 years old, plus or minus 2,000 years.

Technical Definitions:

● Helium Diffusion: essentially the leakage of helium out of material, in this case, zircon crystals.

● Zircon: a crystal containing uranium and thorium common in granite. Zircons are radioactive and they make and lose helium.

● Accelerated decay: an increase in radioactivity during the early part of the creation week and the Flood.

● Radioactivity: the emission of particles from atomic nuclei.

Helium is a byproduct of uranium decay. Helium gas is trapped within granite and indicates a consistent rate of decay. When you look at a piece of granite there are flecks of mica in it. In those flecks of mica there are crystals called zircons, that are often much smaller than a grain of sand. In fact, these zircon crystals are found many places besides granite, including beach sand and even inside lunar rocks. These zircons are radioactive, were formed in molten rocks and are thought to be some of the oldest minerals on the earth. As the molten rock cools, the zircons form crystals and grab uranium atoms from the molten rock around it.¹³⁹

These uranium atoms are not completely stable. Every now and then they spit out an alpha particle (two neutrons and two protons). When this happens the alpha particle will go into the crystal a little ways and stop where it grabs two electrons and becomes a helium atom. Helium is a lightweight, fast moving, chemically slippery atom, which means it doesn’t like to stick to any other atoms. It can wiggle right out of the zircon crystal. That is why helium gas is used to detect leaks, because it is such an effective escaper. The smaller the zircon is, the faster the leak, and the hotter the zircon, the faster the leak. The rate at which this happens is very important because it gives us a way to estimate the age of the zircon from the helium leakage.

By examining the helium leaked from zircon crystals that were produced by massive amounts of radioactive decay, we have evidence of a time when accelerated decay took place. Since helium leaks so easily and steadily out of zircon crystals, there should have been no helium left after 4.5 billion years (which is the most recent estimate of the scientists who believe in evolution). Such high levels of helium in the zircon cannot be sustained for more than a few thousand years. It should have all leaked out before now.

Because of the amount of helium we find today in zircon crystals, and given how quickly helium leaks out, it appears that massive amounts of radioactive decay happened only about 6,000 years ago at the time of the Flood. This evidence shows that nuclear decay did not happen slowly over an alleged 4.5 billion years, but rather an alleged 4.5 billion years of decay happened in about 6,000 years.

The fact that there are significant levels of helium still left in zircon crystals is evidence that God drastically sped up decay rates of long half-life nuclei during the Flood. Such accelerated decay collapses the uniformitarian “ages” down to the Scriptural timescale of thousands of years.¹⁴⁰ Therefore, if it is true that decay rates were once much faster than they are today, it stands to reason that there must be other signs to substantiate this evidence. Let’s consider fission tracks and radiohalos, which are other kinds of physical evidence from rocks.