thy house, into the ark; and after seven days I will cause rain to fall upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the earth.” Noe entered into the ark, with all his family, taking with him all the beasts[1] that the Lord had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in on the outside.
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Fig. 2. The Ark. Reconstruction. (After Calmet.)
And when the seven days were passed, the fountains of the great deep [2] were broken up, and the flood-gates[3] of heaven were opened, and the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. The waters continued to increase till they rose fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. Thus every living being was destroyed, that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, of cattle, of beasts, and all men. Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark.
- ↑ Beasts. God made the animals to flock into the ark in the same way that He gathered them together to be named by Adam, and in the same way that He still draws the birds of passage every year towards the south.
- ↑ Great deep. That is, the waters under the earth came to the surface.
- ↑ Flood-gates. The water which was gathered in the air, and which God kept back, as it were, by flood-gates, broke loose and poured on to the earth. Many of you have seen flood-gates or sluices in a mill-stream, and you know what the water does when they are opened. In the same way, the water burst out of the clouds, and poured unceasingly on to the earth for forty days.
