several quick literal Genesis questions

[metherion]

Question number 1.
In Genesis 1: 29-30, God quite clearly gives man and woman leave to eat EVERYTHING he has placed upon the earth. Yet in Genesis 2:16 He quite clearly gives man restrictions on what he may eat.
Wazzup wit dat?

Question 1 and 1/3
Furthermore, He never gives woman the restriction, yet punishes her for something He did not tell her. Only the man knew.

Question number 1 and 2/3
However, also in Leviticus 11 (and possibly more of the books of Law), God again forbids people to eat certain things. What happened to eating everything?

Question number two.
In Genesis 6:19-21, God clearly tells Noah that he is to bring two of all living creatures except humans into the Ark. Very specifically two. Yet in Gen. 7: 2-3 God clearly tell Noah to take 7 pairs of clean animals and only one pair of unclean animals. Similarly, in both 6:22 and in 7:5, it states that Noah followed the Lord's commands.

Which one? They contradict.
Note: The NAB says 7 pairs, while the KJV says 7 total. Either way, it is still more than two, so Bible version isn't really a big deal here.

Question number 2 and 1/3
Come to think of it, clean and unclean animals also aren't described until Leviticus 11. How's that work?

Question number 2 and 2/3
In 8:1, it says God remembered Noah. Does that mean God forgot Noah for 150 days?

Question number 3
According to Genesis 8, how long was the Flood? (not counting the raining. That was a flat 40 days. I mean after it stopped raining.) These seems to be the options, but I never figured it out straight for myself:
54
164
204
314
354
The verses I use for these are 7:24 (150), 8:3 (150, not sure if it's the same 150 as from 7:24), 8:6 (40), +14(8:9 and 8:14 indicate 14 days for the dove).
Also, why do none of them add up to either 335 or 336 (dependant on leap year) since it also specifically says it started raining on the 17th day of the second month of Noah's 600th year, it rained for 40 days, and then they emerged on the 27th day of the 2nd month of Noah's 601st year (1 year=365 or 366, +10 for the 27th-17th, and -40 from the raining=335 or 336, not given in the options above).

This is important because...

Question 3 and 1/2
Various animals have different times to have babies be born. Here is a link to a table:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004723.html

Now, according to 8:20, Noah sacrificed from the clean animals. Not all of them (looking at the horse and ass here) can have babies in that short a time, which means they'd've died out!

And that does open up the room in the Ark theory since sexually mature adults had been brought in, not babies and eggs, but that is for another thread.

No, I'm not trying to troll. I am seriously confused about how these work with a literal interpretation. Especially number three, since I can never figure out whether to add 150 once or twice, and how the 40 fit in there, and why it doesn't add up to what it says it does about the 2nd year and Xth day.

Metherion

 

[HypnoToad]

Question number 1.
In Genesis 1: 29-30, God quite clearly gives man and woman leave to eat EVERYTHING he has placed upon the earth. Yet in Genesis 2:16 He quite clearly gives man restrictions on what he may eat.
Wazzup wit dat?

Gen.1 is the general, Gen.2 is the specific.

Question 1 and 1/3
Furthermore, He never gives woman the restriction, yet punishes her for something He did not tell her. Only the man knew.

The text never states only the man knew about it. There is no reason to think Adam would not have told Eve what the rules were.

Question number 1 and 2/3
However, also in Leviticus 11 (and possibly more of the books of Law), God again forbids people to eat certain things. What happened to eating everything?

Pre-fall, post-fall. Two different situations.

Question number two.
In Genesis 6:19-21, God clearly tells Noah that he is to bring two of all living creatures except humans into the Ark. Very specifically two. Yet in Gen. 7: 2-3 God clearly tell Noah to take 7 pairs of clean animals and only one pair of unclean animals. Similarly, in both 6:22 and in 7:5, it states that Noah followed the Lord's commands.

Again, general and specific.

Question number 2 and 1/3
Come to think of it, clean and unclean animals also aren't described until Leviticus 11. How's that work?

Just because they aren't codified laws doesn't mean people beforehand had no understanding of "clean/unclean". Further, Noah wouldn't have had to know the difference - God brought the animals to him. All Noah had to do was count - "one pair, unclean; seven pairs, clean."

Question number 2 and 2/3
In 8:1, it says God remembered Noah. Does that mean God forgot Noah for 150 days?

No, it means God's work of judgement was done, and He now began restoration.

Question number 3
According to Genesis 8, how long was the Flood? (not counting the raining. That was a flat 40 days. I mean after it stopped raining.) These seems to be the options, but I never figured it out straight for myself:
54
164
204
314
354
The verses I use for these are 7:24 (150), 8:3 (150, not sure if it's the same 150 as from 7:24), 8:6 (40), +14(8:9 and 8:14 indicate 14 days for the dove).

There are different lengths of time, because different things are being measured. There's, 1) Number of days it rained; 2) Number of days the flood waters were around; 3) Number of days Noah was in the ark.

Also, why do none of them add up to either 335 or 336 (dependant on leap year) since it also specifically says it started raining on the 17th day of the second month of Noah's 600th year, it rained for 40 days, and then they emerged on the 27th day of the 2nd month of Noah's 601st year (1 year=365 or 366, +10 for the 27th-17th, and -40 from the raining=335 or 336, not given in the options above).

The Jewish calendar was different than ours. Their year had 354 days, their months alternated between 30 and 29 days, and about every 3 years, an extra 29-day month (Veadar) was added in between Adar and Nisan. You may want to see if the numbers match that way.

Question 3 and 1/2
Various animals have different times to have babies be born. Here is a link to a table:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004723.html

Now, according to 8:20, Noah sacrificed from the clean animals. Not all of them (looking at the horse and ass here) can have babies in that short a time, which means they'd've died out!

It doesn't say how many were sacrificed, nor how often it was done.

 

[metherion]

Gen.1 is the general, Gen.2 is the specific

How does clearly everything vs. everything BUT work as general versus specific? They definitely seem to be contradictory.

You also answered the same thing for question two, Genesis 6 versus Genesis 7.

How is 7 pairs more specific than one pair? All it seems to be is contradiction.
"Bring only two of all of them."
vs.
"Bring 14 of some and only two of these others."

The Jewish calendar was different than ours. Their year had 354 days, their months alternated between 30 and 29 days, and about every 3 years, an extra 29-day month (Veadar) was added in between Adar and Nisan. You may want to see if the numbers match that way.

I didn't know that. Sounds good, and I'll do it here so that you (or anyone else) can correct my math if I mess up.
1. If it is the year of the extra month, the year is 354+29 days, which is 383.
So if Noah was in for 10 days longer than a year it would be 393.
40(days it rained) +150 (7:24) +150 (8:3) +14= 354. So the Flood was not in a year of the extra month.

2. Without the extra month:
354+10=364
40+150+150+14 still equals 354.

It still doesn't add up .

Further, Noah wouldn't have had to know the difference - God brought the animals to him. All Noah had to do was count - "one pair, unclean; seven pairs, clean."

Yeah, that works, since nowhere in either of the stories does God tell Noah to catch the animals, just bring them into the Ark. So it does make sense that God could have brought Noah the animals.

But there is still the whole two and only two versus 14 of some and two of the other.

Also,

It doesn't say how many were sacrificed, nor how often it was done.

That is correct, but from the reading it is clear that it happened immediately after they left the Ark, as it happens before God makes the covenant with Noah.

Also, speaking of the covenant with Noah, in Genesis 9:3 God again SPECIFICALLY gives Noah permission to eat EVERY animal, despite Noah knowing which are clean and unclean (since Noah only sacrificed clean ones, and if you take the 7 pairs version as opposed to the only two of them all kind, Noah also would have known from which ones there were more of.)
Genesis 9:3 NAB (emphasis added)
EVERY creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them ALL to you as I did the green plants.

Genesis 9:3 KJV (emphasis added)
EVERY moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you ALL THINGS.

Now, it is after the Fall, and clean and unclean have been clearly shown to Noah, and God still gives humanity leave to eat EVERYTHING.

I'm really confused now.

Metherion

 

[Marshall Janzen]

The general to specific explanation definitely doesn't work for the animals brought on to the ark. In particular, look at birds:

• "Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive." (Genesis 6:20, ESV)
• "Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth." (Genesis 7:2-3)

It's specific to specific, but the specifics differ.

 

[HypnoToad]

The general to specific explanation definitely doesn't work for the animals brought on to the ark. In particular, look at birds:

• "Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive." (Genesis 6:20, ESV)
• "Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth." (Genesis 7:2-3)

It's specific to specific, but the specifics differ.

No. Two was the general rule for ALL the animals - the first list puts birds in with all the other animals. Sometime after that, God was more specific and then divided it up among clean and unclean.

 

[HypnoToad]

How does clearly everything vs. everything BUT work as general versus specific? They definitely seem to be contradictory.

You also answered the same thing for question two, Genesis 6 versus Genesis 7.

How is 7 pairs more specific than one pair? All it seems to be is contradiction.
"Bring only two of all of them."
vs.
"Bring 14 of some and only two of these others."

I don't see what's so hard to get. The first was a general rule for all animals. Later on, God was more specific and divided it by clean and unclean.

I didn't know that. Sounds good, and I'll do it here so that you (or anyone else) can correct my math if I mess up.
1. If it is the year of the extra month, the year is 354+29 days, which is 383.
So if Noah was in for 10 days longer than a year it would be 393.
40(days it rained) +150 (7:24) +150 (8:3) +14= 354. So the Flood was not in a year of the extra month.

2. Without the extra month:
354+10=364
40+150+150+14 still equals 354.

It still doesn't add up .

You're adding 150 twice, when it should only be once. Gen.8:5 gives a date of about 150 days up to that point - which fits when you realize that 150 days of 7:24 is the same 150 days of 8:3.

Since 8:5 gives a total of about 150 days, it shows that the 40 days of raining, and the 40 days of the flood being "upon the earth" (7:17) are included as part of the 150 days.

That is correct, but from the reading it is clear that it happened immediately after they left the Ark, as it happens before God makes the covenant with Noah.

So?

Also, speaking of the covenant with Noah, in Genesis 9:3 God again SPECIFICALLY gives Noah permission to eat EVERY animal, despite Noah knowing which are clean and unclean (since Noah only sacrificed clean ones, and if you take the 7 pairs version as opposed to the only two of them all kind, Noah also would have known from which ones there were more of.)
Genesis 9:3 NAB (emphasis added)
EVERY creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them ALL to you as I did the green plants.

Genesis 9:3 KJV (emphasis added)
EVERY moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you ALL THINGS.

Now, it is after the Fall, and clean and unclean have been clearly shown to Noah, and God still gives humanity leave to eat EVERYTHING.

God showed what was "clean" and "unclean". But He never says that "unclean" can't be eaten until Moses time. The difference could have just been for sacrifices for Noah.

 

[metherion]

You're adding 150 twice, when it should only be once. Gen.8:5 gives a date of about 150 days up to that point - which fits when you realize that 150 days of 7:24 is the same 150 days of 8:3.

Since 8:5 gives a total of about 150 days, it shows that the 40 days of raining, and the 40 days of the flood being "upon the earth" (7:17) are included as part of the 150 days.

That's why I did it in the post- so you could point out errors like these.

But if we take 150 away and get 204 days (40 it rained + 150 it lasted +14 for the bird's journey), which is still less than both 393 and 364. So it still doesn't add up.

I don't see what's so hard to get. The first was a general rule for all animals. Later on, God was more specific and divided it by clean and unclean.

I don't get why God gave two sets of instructions, which differ. Did God make a mistake the first time or something?
I don't get why there are two complete sets of pretty much everything except for the landing, which differ slightly.

Metherion

 

[HypnoToad]

That's why I did it in the post- so you could point out errors like these.

But if we take 150 away and get 204 days (40 it rained + 150 it lasted +14 for the bird's journey), which is still less than both 393 and 364. So it still doesn't add up.

I think the problem is that you are thinking that the time of "601st year, 1st mo., 1st day" (8:13) is the same day of the dove incident in the verse right before it. The text doesn't say that. There was some time in between to make up for the apparent discrepancy. It says "it came to pass" and then the 601 date. That phrase allows for the passage of time in between the two verses.

I don't get why God gave two sets of instructions, which differ. Did God make a mistake the first time or something?

God gave Noah the first instructions along with the instructions on building the ark. It would make sense that, at this time, the instructions on animals be just a general idea, because the actual gathering of the animals isn't happening for a long time yet - Noah has yet to build the ark at this point.

Then AFTER the ark is built, God mentions the clean and unclean specifications. The size of the boat means it likely took years to build. So, were talking a long time since the first mention of pairs of animals. It's not like there was a day or two in between.

It just makes sense that the first mention be general, since it's not going to actually happen until years later. Then, when the time did come, God was more specific.

I don't get why there are two complete sets of pretty much everything except for the landing, which differ slightly.

I'm not sure what you're asking here.

 

[metherion]

I think the problem is that you are thinking that the time of "601st year, 1st mo., 1st day" (8:13) is the same day of the dove incident in the verse right before it. The text doesn't say that. There was some time in between to make up for the apparent discrepancy. It says "it came to pass" and then the 601 date. That phrase allows for the passage of time in between the two verses.

However, up until that point, it clearly tabulates every single day. Everything is tabulated. The number of animals that go aboard, the particular humans that go aboard, the day it started raining, the day it stopped raining, how long the Ark sat on the sea, EVERYTHING! For it to stop there makes no sense whatsoever.

Also, the dove could not have been released more than 7 days before year 601, month 1, year 1, because we are specifically told that is the day that the earth began to dry up. Without the earth dry, the dove could not have found any trees. But we'll deal with that point later.


Checking versions again, I found something interesting in the KJV, which I would like responded to by any KJV-only believers.
In the NAB, Gen 8:13 says that ground was drying up, while it was dry in 8:14. However, in the KJV,

13And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

14And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

It gets dried at 2 separate times. No intermediate drying, no it was partway done here, just a flat out it "was dry" and "dried." How does THAT work?

Side note: we also forgot the raven, who was let go just before the dove and never landed until it dried. (8:7) So it was in the air more than two weeks at the very least. Which means no food or sleep. AFAIK, ravens can't do that.

And now, about the olive leaf. Where did it come from? All the trees on the earth, including all olive trees, were at least 15 cubits (about a foot and a half each) underwater (7:20). So, all the olive trees were underwater for at least 157 days, plus however much of the raining was over the tops of them. There would be no leaves left on them. Where did the leaf come from?

Also, I was foolishly overlooking most of Genesis 8:2-5. The mountains are part of the earth. 8:5 specifically says in month 10, day 1 the tops of the mountains appeared. However, later in 8:13, it says that the water began to dry upon 601, month 1, day 1. So now either the mountains are not part of the earth, or there is a discrepancy. Also, 8:5 uses the word until in the NAB, the KJV, the NIV, the NKJV, and all but one of the 7 or 8 translations I looked at. The water dried until... means that the water stopped drying up then. And only the tops of the mountains were visible. Shouldn't all the water still be here?

Furthermore, in 7:24, the waters maintain their crest for 150 days, which is just over 5 months in the Hebrew calendar. Now, if it rains for 40 days, that's a bit more than one month, right? So we have 6-7 months during which the water stays 15 cubits over the highest mountain and does not diminish (otherwise the creast would not be maintained, it would be diminishing.) Also, in 8:1, the waters do not begin to subside until God makes them start doing so with a wind. However, in exactly 5 months the waters have subsided enough that the Ark is caught on a mountain. 8:4 says that on the 7th month, 17th day the Ark is caught on the mountains. But, 5 months is less than 150 days, and for the 40 of the rain to pass by and the 150 before God sends the winds to dry the waters adds up to 190. So the water has subsided before it has started subsiding.

Using the KJV, it is 150 days before the waters are abated, which can be taken several ways. It can be taken as the ENTIRE PERIOD for the waters to wholey dry. It can be taken as when God started removing them. But still, it is nowhere near 364 days.

I'm not sure what you're asking here.

I'm asking why everything has to be done in doubles. If I give you the point that the Ark took years to build and Noah needed to be told what to do afterwards twice, that's the only thing that should need to be told twice. Yet there are two accounts of them boarding because it was raining, two accounts of how it rained, and two accounts of the Ark landing somewhere. Why do there need to be pairs of those?

And I may have more later, but this is basically my entire relaxation time until Wednesday, so don't expect an answer before about noon then. I may manage to post again before then, but it's not a sure thing.

Metherion

 

[gluadys]

I'm asking why everything has to be done in doubles. If I give you the point that the Ark took years to build and Noah needed to be told what to do afterwards twice, that's the only thing that should need to be told twice. Yet there are two accounts of them boarding because it was raining, two accounts of how it rained, and two accounts of the Ark landing somewhere. Why do there need to be pairs of those?

And I may have more later, but this is basically my entire relaxation time until Wednesday, so don't expect an answer before about noon then. I may manage to post again before then, but it's not a sure thing.

Metherion

Yes, this is where I give up on the mental gymnastics to explain the details of the flood story and go with the simplest answer. Everything is in doubles because the story was told twice by two different authors whose works were later combined.


http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/2/Judaism/jp-flood.html

 

[HypnoToad]

I had begun a reply answering all your questions, and then I got to this:

So now either the mountains are not part of the earth, or there is a discrepancy.

... and deleted everything I wrote up to then. A question like that raises concerns. Are you serious with that? Really?? You are really going to find fault because the text differentiates between mountain tops and the surface where most people/animals/plants live? An objection like that is more like blind contention than actually seeking to understand.

 

[metherion]

Yes, I am serious. The mountaintops have creatures and trees living on them. So, it would seem that there is inconsistency if Genesis differentiates between them as far as where things could be. Specifically, I did some research and found that ravens can live in the Artic. Which as as cold as some mountaintops. So, if the raven did not land until the earth had dried, but the mountains were visible, than either it wasn't a raven (which would have landed on the visible mountaintops), or it was symbological. Also, humans can (and some do) live in the mountains, like the Sherpa.
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067323/Sherpa

So, it makes no sense to differentiate between where people and animals live and mountains, because people and animals DO live in them! Noah and his family and many if not all of the animals could have lived on the mountaintops for a long while while they waited for the water to go down, and they'd be outside of the Ark. So there should be no differentiation between mountains and normal land.

Some examples:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Leopard

(on ravens)
In Tibet, it is recorded to be found up to 5,000 m altitude and as high as 6,350 m on Mt Everest.[2]

And one can argue that with waters that high, the breathable atmosphere would be closer to that of sea level, and ditto with environment. So, there is no reason why mountains would not be considered part of the earth. Yet it seems they are.

So,

Are you serious with that? Really?? You are really going to find fault because the text differentiates between mountain tops and the surface where most people/animals/plants live? An objection like that is more like blind contention than actually seeking to understand.

Yes, I am really going to find fault, because the mountains would have been very much like the earth except in surface area and elevation. There is no reason to describe them differently. After all, the rain would either have melted all the snow or frozen (obviously, it melted it), and the air would have been normal.

Metherion

 

[ContentInHim]

What if the mountains were created by the upheaval of the flood? Hmmm.

 

[HypnoToad]

The mountaintops have creatures and trees living on them. So, it would seem that there is inconsistency if Genesis differentiates between them as far as where things could be.

What you're doing now is a common error by skeptics - taking the general and treating it as universal.

Neither I, nor Scripture, are speaking about where things could live. We are both talking about where things typically live.

You can not take a general view, make it universal, then point out an exception to the universal, and then claim it's valid against the general.

 

[DiscipleDave]

Noah took 7 each of the clean, and one female and one male of the unclean animals:

Genesis 7:2: Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

In His Holy and Precious Name, Jesus Christ
DiscipleDave
^i^

 

[pastorkevin73]

Question number 1.
In Genesis 1: 29-30, God quite clearly gives man and woman leave to eat EVERYTHING he has placed upon the earth. Yet in Genesis 2:16 He quite clearly gives man restrictions on what he may eat.
Wazzup wit dat?

Question 1 and 1/3
Furthermore, He never gives woman the restriction, yet punishes her for something He did not tell her. Only the man knew.

Question number 1 and 2/3
However, also in Leviticus 11 (and possibly more of the books of Law), God again forbids people to eat certain things. What happened to eating everything?

Question number two.
In Genesis 6:19-21, God clearly tells Noah that he is to bring two of all living creatures except humans into the Ark. Very specifically two. Yet in Gen. 7: 2-3 God clearly tell Noah to take 7 pairs of clean animals and only one pair of unclean animals. Similarly, in both 6:22 and in 7:5, it states that Noah followed the Lord's commands.

Which one? They contradict.
Note: The NAB says 7 pairs, while the KJV says 7 total. Either way, it is still more than two, so Bible version isn't really a big deal here.

Question number 2 and 1/3
Come to think of it, clean and unclean animals also aren't described until Leviticus 11. How's that work?

Question number 2 and 2/3
In 8:1, it says God remembered Noah. Does that mean God forgot Noah for 150 days?

Question number 3
According to Genesis 8, how long was the Flood? (not counting the raining. That was a flat 40 days. I mean after it stopped raining.) These seems to be the options, but I never figured it out straight for myself:
54
164
204
314
354
The verses I use for these are 7:24 (150), 8:3 (150, not sure if it's the same 150 as from 7:24), 8:6 (40), +14(8:9 and 8:14 indicate 14 days for the dove).
Also, why do none of them add up to either 335 or 336 (dependant on leap year) since it also specifically says it started raining on the 17th day of the second month of Noah's 600th year, it rained for 40 days, and then they emerged on the 27th day of the 2nd month of Noah's 601st year (1 year=365 or 366, +10 for the 27th-17th, and -40 from the raining=335 or 336, not given in the options above).

This is important because...

Question 3 and 1/2
Various animals have different times to have babies be born. Here is a link to a table:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004723.html

Now, according to 8:20, Noah sacrificed from the clean animals. Not all of them (looking at the horse and ass here) can have babies in that short a time, which means they'd've died out!

And that does open up the room in the Ark theory since sexually mature adults had been brought in, not babies and eggs, but that is for another thread.

No, I'm not trying to troll. I am seriously confused about how these work with a literal interpretation. Especially number three, since I can never figure out whether to add 150 once or twice, and how the 40 fit in there, and why it doesn't add up to what it says it does about the 2nd year and Xth day.

Metherion

What's your purpose? Are you seeking truth or an arguement?

 

[shernren]

What's your purpose? Are you seeking truth or an arguement?

If literalism is true, all these questions will have good answers. Right?

 

[crawfish]

Noah took 7 each of the clean, and one female and one male of the unclean animals:

Genesis 7:2: Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

In His Holy and Precious Name, Jesus Christ
DiscipleDave
^i^

So, why do you think God changed His mind? Perhaps he initially didn't realize they'd need food...

 

[crawfish]

What's your purpose? Are you seeking truth or an arguement?

I'm not sure you can have one without the other. At least in this forum.

 

[metherion]

Neither I, nor Scripture, are speaking about where things could live. We are both talking about where things typically live.

You can not take a general view, make it universal, then point out an exception to the universal, and then claim it's valid against the general.

Very well. Then I will take something specific and try to see if it can stay specific.

God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 God did not create the heavens, mountains, and earth, but the heavens and the earth. So, it would seem that they do in fact refer to the mountains as part of the earth. And God called all the dry ground "land", not "land" and "mountains" Gen 1:10.

However, I will let the point go in the interest of getting my other questions answered. Thus, if you would not mind going back to post #9 and answering the rest, I would be much obliged.

Also, the first mountaintops are supposed to be able to catch the Ark on month 7, day 17, while it takes 2 months and 12-13 days (not sure if it's a 29 or 30 day months) to dry a maximum of 30 cubits, which should be ~45 feet. And that is with God's help, as He was sending winds to lessen the water. So if the water is drying that slowly, how did it all go away in the next 4 and a half months? By all rights, it should only have dried off another ~90 feet.

Metherion