Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/269

discovered that the northern mountains are in reality higher than those of Kurdistan.

5. the tops of the mountains] i.e. (as usually explained) the other (lower) mountains. The natural interpretation would be that the statement is made absolutely, from the viewpoint of an imaginary spectator; in which case it is irreconcilable with v.⁴ (cf. Hupf. Qu. 16 f.).—13a, 14. On New Year's day the earth's surface was uncovered, though still moist; but not till the 27th of the 2nd month was it dry (arefacta: cf. Jer. 50³⁸).

15-19. Exit from the ark: blessing on the animals.—17b. A renewal of the benediction of 1²², which had been forfeited by the excesses before the Flood. The corresponding blessing on man is reserved for 9^1ff..—19. The animals leave the ark according to their families,—an example of P's love of order.

The Chronology of the Flood presents a number of intricate though unimportant problems.—The Dates, according to MT and G,^[1] are as follows:

1. Commencement of Flood 600th year, 2nd mo., 17th day (G 27th)
2. Climax (resting of ark) " 7th " 17th " (G 27th)
3. Mountain tops visible " 10th (G 11th), 1st "
4. Waters dried up 601st year, 1st mo., 1st "
5. Earth dry " 2nd " 27th "

The chief points are these: (a) In G the duration of the Flood is exactly 12 months; and since the 5 months between (1) and (2) amount to 150 days (7²⁴ 8³), the basis of reckoning is presumably the Egyptian solar year (12 mo. of 30 days + 5 intercalated days). The 2 months' interval between (3) and (4) also agrees, to a day, with the 40 + 21 days

5. (Hebrew characters)] 'went on decreasing' (G-K. § 113 u); less idiomatic than ^3a (J).—Tenth] G eleventh.—13a. After (Hebrew characters) G adds (Hebrew characters) (7¹¹).

15. (Hebrew characters)] G (Greek characters).—17. [E]GS read (Hebrew characters); so v.¹⁹.—(Hebrew characters)] Why Qrê substitutes in this solitary instance (Hebrew characters) is not clear: see Kön. i. p. 641.—(Hebrew characters)] G (Hebrew characters) (Impv.), omitting the previous (Hebrew characters). This is perhaps the better text: see on 9^1ff. V reads the whole as Impv.—19. (Hebrew characters)—(Hebrew characters)] G (better) (Hebrew characters).—(Hebrew characters)] (Jer. 15³); the pl. of (Hebrew characters) (P's word in ch. 1) is not in use (Ho.).

1. Jub. v. 23-32 (cf. vi. 25 f.) adds several dates, but otherwise agrees with MT, except that it makes the Flood commence on the 27th, gives no date for the resting of the ark, and puts the drying of the earth on the 17th, and the opening of the ark on the 27th day of the 2nd month.