The story of Noah and the Great Flood conjures images of a cartoon ark bobbing in blue seas with twin animals poking their heads out of windows and Noah waving from the deck. Yet a flood the magnitude of the one described in the Biblical text would more closely resemble the television images of the 2005 tsunami or Hurricane Katrina—total devastation on a massive scale. How did this story become a part of the canon of the Ancient Israelites, and how can it help us better understand God?

The flood story (Genesis 6:1-9, 17) was likely developed through the compilation of writings of the Ancient Israelites, as a means of describing the nature of their God, their relationship with God, and their relationship with the land. This story was probably first told by Israelites living in the riverine domain of ancient Mesopotamia. Developed in the marshy zone between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Genesis 2:14), the people of this civilization harnessed seasonal floods to divert water to the land for agricultural irrigation. Rain and melting snow traveled down the Tigris and Euphrates, eroding the riverbanks, sweeping silt down the river and depositing it downstream in the agricultural areas. Deforested and overgrazed lands upstream were easily stripped of soil, exacerbating this process of erosion. The silt accumulated downstream, raising the rivers above their floodplains. In addition, the waters deposited salt downstream. The briny water’s interaction with the soil caused the water table to rise in the lower valley. These conditions led to intense flooding in the rainy season. While people worked to use the flooding to their advantage in agricultural practices, occasionally they couldn’t contain and direct the floodwaters, and they experienced massive flooding first-hand: “the water under the earth started gushing out everywhere. The sky opened like windows and rain poured down” (Genesis 7:11-12, CEV). They knew what it was like to have everything that mattered to them destroyed by floodwaters, and to have to rebuild from scratch. The religious story of a great flood brought theological meaning to their real-life experiences.

Like the creation story, the flood story parallels legends told by their neighbors. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic describes a massive flood sent by the gods to destroy the earth and its people. One man is told by a god to build a boat and to take his family and animals in it. The earth flooded and their boat was swept to the top of a mountain. After birds were sent out to seek land, the man made a sacrifice to the gods, who promised never to flood the earth again. (See mini-article <>)

The Biblical flood story echoes themes from the Gilgamesh Epic, but adds a moral dimension. The Gilgamesh flood was based on whims of gods, whereas the Israelite flood was God’s response to human corruption. In both stories, after the flood, the divine figures promised never to flood the earth again. However, the Israelite account added a dimension of justice to govern humanity: “I created humans to be like me, and I will punish any animal or person that takes a human life” (Genesis 9:5, CEV). The God of the Israelites, unlike other ancient gods, was concerned for human welfare and relationships.

The story of recovery from the floods is a narrative of rebirth through water, echoing the birth story of creation (Genesis 1:1 — 2:4). It creates order from chaos, offering safety and new life.

Looking at the Text

Read the story of the flood (Genesis 6:1 — 9:17). What insights does the story give you about the landscape in which the Israelites dwelled?

Compare the narrative of events after the flood in Genesis 8:1 — 9:2 to the narrative of events in the first creation story in Genesis 1:1-30. What similarities do you see? What is the significance of these parallels?

Looking at Our World

God made a covenant with all people and creatures never to flood the earth again (Genesis 9:9-11). Most ancient covenants stated what both parties would do to keep the terms of the agreement, but in this text, only God’s side of the agreement is stated.

Scientists predict that the warming of our atmosphere will increase the frequency of catastrophic floods, hurricanes and other destructive weather events. Emissions created by humans are the leading cause of this warming trend. What are the moral and theological implications of this human-caused flooding? Do humans have an unspoken agreement with God to not flood the earth?

Jenny Phillips writes curriculum and resources on faith-based creation care. She has a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, NY, and she lives in Brooklyn, NY.