Did It Rain Before the Flood?
From Eco-Bible 1
These are notes for an incomplete "Concept" page.
- Information is being added as the Bible Pages are added. In the end, everything will be compiled, further information added (as necessary), broken links connected, etc.
|
Rain is never mentioned as occurring prior to the Flood; and Genesis 2:5-6 may suggest the possibility that it didn't. Two water sources are given as "solutions" to the problem of "lack of rain" - "mists" coming up from the ground (perhaps from the "fountains of the deep" - Genesis 7:11; 8:2) and a river.
- If it didn't rain at this point in time, then the mention of rain in the account would be a post-Flood addition, in order to describe the situation in terms that post-Flood hearers could relate to. (It could have even been added by Moses. See: Communication of Pre-Flood Accounts, for more information about such issues.)
If this is actually how things were, then one of the significant ecological changes brought about by the Flood would be the presently-existing weather cycles. Then the rainbow (Genesis 9) would not only have become a sign of God's promise, but it would have been a new phenomenon.
Scripture Pages that Link to Here
- Verse 5 mentions the lack of rain, and verse 6 describes "a mist" as the answer to the problem. Many interpret this as indicating that rainfall didn't occur at this point in the earth's history - that it didn't occur until the Flood.
Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.
|
