Noe with his family go into the ark. The deluge overflows the earth.
Noe vvith his familie, and paires of al kindes of beastes and foules, being entred into the arke, 12. it raineth fourtie daies and fourtie nights. 21. Al men and other liuing creatures on the earth, without the arke, are destroyed.
1And the Lord said to him: Go in, thou and all thy house, into the ark: for thee I have seen just before me in this generation.E il Signore gli disse: Entra nell'arca tu, e tutta la tua famiglia: imperocché io ti ho riconosciuto giusto dinanzi a me in questa età.AND our Lord said to him: Get thee in, thou and al thy house into the arke: for I haue sene thee iust in my sight in this generation.Dixitque Dominus ad eum: Ingredere tu et omnis domus tua in arcam: te enim vidi justum coram me in generatione hac. 2Of all clean beasts take seven and seven, the male and the female.Di tutti gli animali mondi ne prenderai a sette a sette, maschio, e femmina: e degli animali immondi a due a due, maschio, e femmina.Of al beasts that are cleane, thou shalt take seauen, and seauen, male & female:Ex omnibus animantibus mundis tolle septena et septena, masculum et feminam: de animantibus vero immundis duo et duo, masculum et feminam. 3But of the beasts that are unclean two and two, the male and the female. Of the fowls also of the air seven and seven, the male and the female: that seed may be saved upon the face of the whole earth.E parimente degli uccelli dell'aria a sette a sette, maschio, e femmina: affinché se ne conservi la razza sopra la faccia della terra.but of the beasts that are vncleane two and two, male & female. Yea and of the foules also of the ayre seauen & heauen, male and female: that seede may be saued vpon the face of the whole earth.Sed et de volatilibus cæli septena et septena, masculum et feminam: ut salvetur semen super faciem universæ terræ. 4For yet a while, and after seven days, I will rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights: and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the earth.Imperocché di qui a sette giorni io farò, che piova sopra la terra per quaranta giorni e quaranta notti: e sterminerò dalla superficie della terra tutti i viventi fatti da me.For yet a while, and after seauen dayes, I wil rayne vpon the earth fourtie dayes and fourtie nights: and I wil cleane destroy al substance, that I haue made, from the face of the earth.Adhuc enim, et post dies septem ego pluam super terram quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus: et delebo omnem substantiam, quam feci, de superficie terræ. 5And Noe did all things which the Lord had commanded him.Fece adunque Noè tutto quello che gli aveva comandato il Signore.Noe therfore did al thinges, which our Lord had commanded him.Fecit ergo Noë omnia quæ mandaverat ei Dominus. 6And he was six hundred years old, when the waters of the flood overflowed the earth.Ed egli era in età di seicento anni, allorché le acque del diluvio inondarono la terra.And he was six hundred yeares old, when the waters of the floud flowed ouer the earth.Eratque sexcentorum annorum quando diluvii aquæ inundaverunt super terram.
7And Noe went in and his sons, his wife and the wives of his sons with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.Ed entrò Noè, e i suoi figliuoli, e la moglie di lui, e le mogli de' suoi figliuoli con lui nell'arca a motivo delle acque del diluvio.And Noe entred and his sonnes, his wife and the wiues of of his sonnes with him into the arke, because of the waters of the floud.Et ingressus est Noë et filii ejus, uxor ejus et uxores filiorum ejus cum eo in arcam propter aquas diluvii. 8And of beasts clean and unclean, and of fowls, and of every thing that moveth upon the earth,E degli animali ancora mondi, ed immondi, e degli uccelli, e di tutto quello che sopra la terra si muove.Of beasts also the cleane and the vncleane, & of foules, and of al that moueth vpon the earth;De animantibus quoque mundis et immundis, et de volucribus, et ex omni quod movetur super terram, 9Two and two went in to Noe into the ark, male and female, as the Lord had commanded Noe.Entrarono con Noè in coppia nell'arca maschio, e femmina, conforme il Signore avea ordinato a Noètwo & two went to Noe into the arke, male and female, as our Lord had commanded Noe.duo et duo ingressa sunt ad Noë in arcam, masculus et femina, sicut præceperat Dominus Noë. 10And after the seven days were passed, the waters of the flood overflowed the earth.E passati i sette giorni, le acque del diluvio inondarono la terra.And after the seauen dayes were passed, the waters of the floud flowed ouer the earth.Cumque transissent septem dies, aquæ diluvii inundaverunt super terram. 11In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were opened:L'anno secentesimo della vita di Noè, il secondo mese a' diciassette del mese, si squarciarono tutte le sorgenti del grande abisso, e si aprirono le cateratte del cielo.In the six hundred yeare of the life of Noe, in the second moneth, in the seauententh day of the moneth, al the fountaines of the greate deapth were broken vp, and the floud gates of heauen were opened:Anno sexcentesimo vitæ Noë, mense secundo, septimodecimo die mensis, rupti sunt omnes fontes abyssi magnæ, et cataractæ cæli apertæ sunt: 12And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.E piovve sopra la terra per quaranta giorni, e quaranta notti.and the raine fel vpon the earth fourtie dayes and fourtie nights.et facta est pluvia super terram quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus. 13In the selfsame day Noe, and Sem, and Cham, and Japheth, his sons: his wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, went into the ark.In quello stesso dì entrò Noè, e Sem, e Cham, e Japheth suoi figliuoli, la moglie di lui, e le mogli de' suoi figliuoli con essi nella arca.In the verie point of that day entred Noe, and Sem, and Cham, & Iapheth his sonnes: and his wife, and the three wiues of his sonnes with them into the arke:In articulo diei illius ingressus est Noë, et Sem, et Cham, et Japheth filii ejus; uxor illius, et tres uxores filiorum ejus cum eis in arcam:
14They and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle in their kind, and every thing that moveth upon the earth, according to its kind, and every fowl according to its kind, all birds, and all that fly,Eglino, e tutti gli animali secondo la loro specie, e tutti i giumenti secondo i loro generi, e tutto quello che sopra terra si muove secondo la sua specie, e tutti i volatili secondo la loro specie, e tutti gli uccelli, e tutto quello che porta ali.they and euerie beast according to their kind, and al cattle in their kinde, and al that moueth vpon the earth according to their kind, and al foule according to their kind, al birds, and al that flyipsi et omne animal secundum genus suum, universaque jumenta in genere suo, et omne quod movetur super terram in genere suo, cunctumque volatile secundum genus suum, universæ aves, omnesque volucres, 15Went in to Noe into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein was the breath of life.Entrarono da Noè nell'arca a due a due per ogni specie di animali, che respirano, ed hanno vita.went to Noe into the arke, two and two of al flesh, wherin there was breath of life.ingressæ sunt ad Noë in arcam, bina et bina ex omni carne, in qua erat spiritus vitæ. 16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in on the outside.E quei, che v'entrarono, entraron di ogni specie maschio, e femmina, conforme avea a lui ordinato il Signore; e ve lo chiuse per di fuori il Signore.And such as entred in, male and female of al flesh did enter in, as God had commanded him: and our Lord shut him in on the out side.Et quæ ingressa sunt, masculus et femina ex omni carne introierunt, sicut præceperat ei Deus: et inclusit eum Dominus deforis. 17And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the earth.E venne il diluvio per quaranta giorni sopra la terra, e le acque facevan cresciuta; e fecer salire l'arca molto in alto da terra.And the floud gr•w fourtie daies vpon the earth: and the waters increased, and lifted vp the arke on high from the earth.Factumque est diluvium quadraginta diebus super terram: et multiplicatæ sunt aquæ, et elevaverunt arcam in sublime a terra. 18For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the face of the earth: and the ark was carried upon the waters.Imperocché la inondazione delle acque fu grande: ed elle coprivano ogni cosa sulla superficie della terra: ma l'arca galleggiava sopra le acque.For they ouerflowed excedingly: and filled al on the face of the earth: moreouer the arke fleeted vpon the waters.Vehementer enim inundaverunt, et omnia repleverunt in superficie terræ: porro arca ferebatur super aquas.
19And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the earth: and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.E le acque ingrossarono formisura sopra la terra: e rimaser coperti tutti i monti sotto il cielo tutto quanto,And the waters preuailed out of measure vpon the earth: and al the hiegh mountaines vnder the whole heauen were couered.Et aquæ prævaluerunt nimis super terram: opertique sunt omnes montes excelsi sub universo cælo. 20The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains which it covered.Quindici cubiti si alzò l'acqua sopra i monti, che avea ricoperti.Fiftene cubites higher was the water aboue the mountaines, which it couered.Quindecim cubitis altior fuit aqua super montes, quos operuerat. 21And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle, and of beasts, and of all creeping things that creep upon the earth: and all men.E ogni carne, che ha moto sopra la terra, restò consunta, gli uccelli, gli animali, le fiere, e tutti i rettili, che strisciano sulla terra: tutti gli uomini,And al flesh was consumed that moued vpon the earth, of foule, of cattle, of beasts, and of al creepers, that creepe vpon the earth: al men,Consumptaque est omnis caro quæ movebatur super terram, volucrum, animantium, bestiarum, omniumque reptilium, quæ reptant super terram: universi homines, 22And all things wherein there is the breath of life on the earth, died.E tutto quello che respira, ed ha vita sopra la terra, perì.and al things, wherin there is breath of life on the earth, died.et cuncta, in quibus spiraculum vitæ est in terra, mortua sunt. 23And he destroyed all the substance that was upon the earth, from man even to beast, and the creeping things and fowls of the air: and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark.E fu perduto ogni corpo vivente, che era sopra la terra, dall'uomo fino alle bestie, tanto i rettili, che gli uccelli dell'aria, tutto fu sterminato dalla terra: e rimase solo Noè, e que' che eran con lui nell'arca.And he cleane destroied al substance, that was vpon the earth, from man euen to beast, as wel it that creepeth, as the foules of the ayre: and they were destroied from of the earth: but onlie Noe remained, and they that were with him in the arke.Et delevit omnem substantiam quæ erat super terram, ab homine usque ad pecus, tam reptile quam volucres cæli: et deleta sunt de terra. Remansit autem solus Noë, et qui cum eo erant in arca.
24And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.E le acque signoreggiarono la terra per cento cinquanta giorni.And the waters held on aboue the earth an hundred fiftie dayes. The end of the first age.Obtinueruntque aquæ terram centum quinquaginta diebus.
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Challoner
Of all clean. The distinction of clean and unclean beasts, appears to have been made before the law of Moses, which was not promulgated till the year of the world 2514. (Challoner).
Clean: not according to the law of Moses, which was not yet given, but such as tradition had described
fit for sacrifice; (Menochius) though they might be of the same species as were deemed clean in the law, which ratified the ancient institution.
Haydock
And seven: (Hebrew) simply seven, three couple and an odd male, for sacrifice after the deluge: one couple was to breed, the other two perhaps for food. (Haydock)
Origen † AD 253
Some imagine, that there were fourteen unclean and four clean animals, of every species, in the ark, because the Samaritan, Septuagint, and Vulgate read, "seven and seven." (Origen, etc.)
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Year of the World 1656, Year before Christ 2348.
Haydock
Seventeenth day. On the tenth, God had given the last warning to the wretched and obstinate sinners, to whom Noe had been preaching, both by word and by building the ark, for 120 years; all in vain. This second month is, by some, supposed to be the month of May; by others, that of November. Usher makes Noe enter the ark on the 18th December [in the year of the world] 1656. The waters decreased May 17, mountains appear July 31, he sends out the raven September 8, and leaves the ark December 29, after having remained in it a year and ten days, according to the antediluvian computation, or a full year of 365 days. The systems of those pretended philosophers, who would represent this flood as only partial, affecting the countries which were then inhabited, are all refuted by the plain narration of Moses. What part of the world could have been secure, when the waters prevailed fifteen cubits above the highest mountains? To give a natural cause only for this miraculous effect, would be nugatory: but as waters covered the earth at first, so they surely might again, by the power of God. (Haydock)
Haydock
Fountains and flood-gates. These are the two natural causes which Moses assigns for the deluge, the waters below, and those above in the sky or firmament. Heaven is said to be shut when it does not rain, (Luke 4:25.) so it is here opened, and flood-gates, or torrents of rain, pour down incessantly. But God attributes not the deluge to these causes alone; he sufficiently intimates that it would be miraculous, (ver. 4, I will rain,) and still more emphatically, Genesis 6:17, Behold 1:Hebrew, "I, even I myself, do bring on a flood of waters." The idea which Moses give of the flood, corresponds with that which he before gave of chaos, when earth and water were undistinguished in one confused mass, Genesis 1:6. The Hebrews look upon it as a continual miracle, that the earth is not always deluged, being founded, as they represent it, on the waters, Jeremias 5:22. Calmet and others have proved, both from Scripture and from philosophical arguments, the universality of the deluge, against Isaac Vossius, etc. (Haydock)
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Calmet
The Lord shut him in, by an angel besmearing the door with pitch, to prevent the waters from penetrating, while Noe did the like in the inside. (Calmet)
Worthington
Thus God supplies our wants when we are not able to provide for ourselves, and though he could do all by himself, yet he requires us to co-operate with him, and often makes use of secondary causes. (Worthington)
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Calmet
Days: counting from the end of the forty days, when the deluge was at its height. (Calmet)
In all the histories of past ages, there is nothing so terrible as this event. What became of all those myriads of human beings who perished on this occasion? We know not. Some have charitably supposed, that, although the far greater part perished everlastingly, a few who had been incredulous while Noe preached, opened their eyes at last, when it was too late to save their bodies, and by sincere repentance rescued their souls from the flames, and were consigned to do penance, for a time, in the other world. These heard the preaching of Jesus Christ, or believed in his redemption, while they were yet living, and so deserved to partake of his mercies, and joyfully beheld his sacred person when he came to visit them in their prison of purgatory. 1 Peter 3:19, He came and preached to those spirits that were in prison: which had been sometime incredulous, when they waited for the patience of God in the days of Noe, when the ark was a building: wherein a few, that is eight souls, were saved from drowning by water. Whereunto baptism, being of the like form, now saves you also, etc. See F. S. Bellarmine, etc. In these last words of St. Peter, we may also notice, that the ark was a figure of baptism, which is so necessary, that without its reception, or desire of it at least, no man can be saved. It is also a figure of the cross, and of the one true Church, as the Fathers remark, with St. Augustine, City of God XV. I; Menochius etc.; St. Gregory, hom. 12 in Ezech. etc.
This is so striking that it deserves to be seriously considered. It was only one, though God could have ordered many smaller vessels to be made ready, perhaps with less inconvenience to Noe, that we might reflect, out of the Church the obstinate will surely perish. St. Jerome, ep. ad Dam.: In this ark all that were truly holy, and some imperfect, like Cham, were contained, clean beasts and unclean dwelt together, that we need not wonder if some Catholics be a disgrace to their name. The ark had different partitions, to remind us of the various orders of Clergy and Laity in the Church, with one chief governor, the Pope, like Noe in the ark. It was strong, visible, etc., and pitched all over with the durable cement, bitumen, and riding triumphant amid the storms, the envy of all who were out of it, till at last it settled upon a rock. So the Church is built on a rock, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail: she is not less obvious to the sincere seeker, than a city built on the top of the highest mountain, etc. We might here take a retrospective view of the chief occurrences and personages of the former world; we should observe the same order of the things from the beginning,
the conflict of virtue and vice, the preservation of the true faith and worship of God among a few chosen souls, who preferred to be persecuted by worldlings, rather than to offend God. They contended earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints, to Adam and Eve, once innocent, and afterwards penitent. We behold original sin, and the promised remedy for mankind; while the rebel angels are abandoned, without redress. There was kept up a communion of saints: sacrifice to the one God was performed generally by the heads of families, who were priests in the law of nature. Even Cain, though a bad man, through hypocrisy, chose to offer sacrifice before he had quite broken off from the society of the faithful, and resolved to become the father of all excommunicated persons, and of all seceders. (Chap. 4:16.) He was admonished by God that he had free will, and might merit a reward by a different conduct. His sentence, as well as that pronounced upon Adam, and upon all mankind, before the flood, reminds us of the particular and general judgment; as the translation of Henoch sets before us the happy state of the blessed, and the immortality, of which it was an earnest. See Douay Bible, where the chief mysteries of faith are pointed out as the creed of the Antediluvians. Even the Blessed Trinity was insinuated, or shewn to them, at a distance, in various texts: the unity and indissolubility of marriage were clearly expressed; the true Church continued in Noe, while the chain of schismatics and heretics was broken, and Cain's progeny destroyed. In this period of time, we may discover what the ancients so often describe respecting the four ages:
Haydock
the golden age is most perfectly found in Paradise; but only for a few days, or perhaps only a few hours, during which our first parents preserved their innocence. The silver age may have lasted rather longer, till the murder of Abel, or 128 years, when Cain began to disturb the peace of the world. From that time, till the giants make their appearance, we may reckon the age of brass. But that of iron had continued for many years before the flood. The like deterioration of morals we may discover after the deluge, and again after the renovation of the world, by the preaching of the gospel. For some time after these two great events, things bore a pleasing aspect; Noe was busy in offering sacrifice to God, Christians were all one heart and one soul, enjoying all things in common, and God gave a blessing to the earth, and confirmed his covenant with men. Then Cham, Nemrod, and Babel appear, heresies in the new law break forth, and disturb the lovely harmony of mankind: but still a sufficient number preserve their integrity, till about the days of Abraham and Arius, in their respective periods, and may be said to have lived in the silver age, when compared with the brazen insolence of the great majority of those who came after. The iron age of these two periods, may be dated from the persecution of Epiphanes against the Jews, when so many apostatized from the faith, and from that much more terrible persecution which will be raised against Christians by Antichrist, the man of sin, (of which the former was a type) when the charity of many shall grow cold, and Christ will hardly find faith upon the earth. To that age may justly be applied, those strong expressions of disapprobation which God made use of before the flood, Genesis 6:3, 6, 12. He will punish the crimes of that age with a deluge of fire, and say, The end of all flesh is come before me, etc., ver. 13. Time shall be no longer, Apocalypse 10:6. (Haydock)
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Of all clean.... The distinction of clean and unclean beasts appears to have been made before the law of Moses, which was not promulgated till the year of the world 2514.
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Noe was iust not only by the estimation of men, but in deede and before God.
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Obseruation of cleane and vncleanne beastes by tradition, before the law of Moyses.
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The Hebrew word Thehom signifieth a gulfe of water, from whence new fountaynes sprang, more abundantly thē euer since or before.
Arubbah signifieth great pipes or windowes, by which water fell downe in great abūdance from the ayre, here called heauen, S. Hier. quest. Heb. S. Epiph, ad Io. Hierosolom. S. Chr. 〈◊〉. 25. in Gen.
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16. Shut him in] God who by his only wil could in a moment haue drowned al the rest of the world, sauing whom he pleased, not needing in any thing the helpe of his creatures, yet would vse both natural, & supernatural meanes, God vseth both natural and supernatural meanes, as secundarie causes, in producing, conseruing, gouerning, punishing, & in rewarding his creatures. as the labour of Noe to build the arke, new fountaines springing, and the heauens powring downe water fourtie dayes togeather, afterwards the winde to dry vp the earh, and because the dore being great (for Elephants• to enter in) and was to be firmed without (as S. Ambrose noteth) for better induring the li. de Noe & area, c. 15. forcible waters, could not commodiously be closed by Noe, our Lord (by the ministrie of Angels) shut him in on the out side, to teach vs by al this, and the like disposition of things, that albeit his Diuine omnipotencie can do what he wil al alone, yet he wil haue his creatures to concurre and cooperate as secundarie causes, sometimes naturally, sometimes supernaturally, or miraculously, as it pleaseth his goodnes to impert to them powre and vertue.
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23. But only Noe] As there is not anie thing in al the old Testament, from the creation of the world til the coming of Christ, more notable, more admirable, or of greater importance, then this historie of the general floud; so was there nothing (though al, or most chanced to them in figure) that euer more Al or most thinges in the old Testament be in figure of the new, & no figure more exact then the floud of Noe. 1. Cor. 10 aptly, more liuely, or more exactly prefigured Christ and his Church, with the rest of al mankind, then did Noe and the arke, & the drowning of the rest of the world in that deluge. VVhich S. Augustin declareth in many places, but Ep. 95. l. 5. de Baptis c. 28. de vnitate Eccles. ca. 5. In Psal. 103. & 131 Ser. 69. de tē pore. 1. Pet. 3. Mat. 24. Luc. 17. most especially and of purpose in his twelfth booke against Faustus the Manichee, from the 14. chapter to the 22. and in his fifteenth booke of the citie of God, in the two last chapters: where he sheweth at large both the certaintie of the historie, and that as certainely it was a figure of things in the new Testament, and withal the great congruitie betwen the figure & the things figured. The same did Origen explicate (homil 2. in Gen.) S. Gregorie (homil 12. in How the Doctors applie the figure to the things figured Ezech.) Rupertus (li. 4. comment. in Gen. c. 71. & sequent.) and diuers other ancient Doctors, confirming their expositions by S. Peters testimonie, saying: In the arke a fevv, that is eight soules (or persons) vvere saued (from drowning) by vvater, vvherunto Baptisme being of the like forme novv saueth you also. And by our Sauiours wordes saying: As in the dayes of Noe. so shal also the comming of the sonne of man be. In summe the Doctors teach, that Noe signifying rest was a figure Noe signified Christ. The arke the Church. of Christ, the very rest of mans soule. VVhom who soeuer foloweth shal find rest for their soules. The arke signifieth the Church, the forme therof being six times so long as broad, and tenne times so long as hiegh, resembleth the proportion of mans bodie, lying prone or prostrate. The dore in the side representeth the wound in Christs side, from whence flowed the holie Sacraments, Entrance into the Church by Baptisme. Vertue of Sacraments cometh from Christs Passion Doctors and Pastores in the Church. by which the faithful enter into the Church, and are sanctified. The timber wherof the arke is made, & the water bearing it vp, signified the Crosse of Christ and Baptisme. For as Noe (saith S. Augustin) vvith his, vvas deliuered by li. 12. de Baptis. c.14. the vvater and the vvoode, so the familie of Christ, by Baptisme signed vvith Christs Passion on the Crosse. Likewise the squarnes of the timber which both sustayned the burden of al contayned in the arke, and resisted the boystrous waues of the floud beating without, did signifie such men in the Church, as be constant & stand firmly in al sortes of tentations: especially godlie & lerned Doctors and Pastors, who by worde and example vphold and cōfirme the faithful people in al afflictions within, and withstand and conuince al Heretikes, and other Infidels that oppugne the Church without. Againe the hiegher & lower rowmes with the midle chambers & third loftes, & other distinctions of cabinets, and Varietie of states and orders in the Church partitions, and al sortes of liuing creatures cleane and vncleane, receiued therin, did signifie the varieties of al states & functions, and diuersitie of maners and merites in the Church, in which are persons of al degrees, Clergie and Good and euil in the Church Perpetuitie o• the Church. Laitie, Potentates, Princes, subiectes, good and euil. The most strong kind of glew called bitumen, signified the permanent or euerlasting stabilitie, and vnseparable cōnexion of the Church, by the grace and continual assistance of the Holie Ghost conseruing the same. The consummation of the arke in one cubite signified the vnitie of the same Church, which is one in al times, and places. Vnitie of the Church. Neither would God almightie haue manie arkes, for Noe and his sonnes or other creatures, nor manie chiefe rulers (though he would that of them should come manie Nations) but one only arke, and one chiefe gouernour therof, and that al without the same should corporally dye, to signifie that al One chiefe gouernour in the Church which dye without the Church do perish, and are eternally damned. wherupon Epist. 57. ad Damasum. S. Hierom, amongst other Fathers, sheweth that al within the Church, that communicate with the Sea Apostolique (wherin S. Damasus sate then gouernour) are as those in the arke of Noe, and al Schismatikes, Heretikes No saluation out of the Church. and other Infidels are in like case, with the rest of the world, that were drowned with the floud.
Sap. 10. 4. •cl. 39.
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Concordance 1. Pet. 3.
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Tertullian † AD 220 Five Books in Reply to Marcion 3
30 Faultless, and just—God witnessing the fact—
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.28
… for there too He said not, ‘I knew not,’ but ‘They knew not until the flood came .’ For men did not know, but He who brought the flood (and it was the Saviour Himself) knew the day and the hour in which He opened the cataracts of heaven and broke up the great deep, and said to Noah, ‘Come thou and all thy house into the ark
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Mysteries 3
… Upon which, God, willing to restore what was lacking, sent the flood and bade just Noah go up into the ark. And he, after having, as the flood was passing off, sent forth first a raven which did not return, sent forth a dove which is said to have returned with an olive twig.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 71
… “Why so?” Because virtue was then more difficult. Those men had no written precepts, no patterns of living, but their nature fought, unarmed, by itself, and was forced to float in all directions unballasted. Wherefore also when praising Noah, God called him not simply perfect, but added, “in his generation” (
Pseudo-Clement The Clementine Homilies 2.52
Then Peter answered: “Assuredly, with good reason, I neither believe anything against God, nor against the just men recorded in the law, taking for granted that they are impious imaginations. For, as I am persuaded, neither was Adam a transgressor, who was fashioned by the hands of God; nor was Noah drunken, who was found righteous above all the world;
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Novatian † AD 258 On the Jewish Meats 2
… so that either the most vigorous food should not be given in too small quantity for men’s support, and they should be enfeebled for labour; or that the more tender meat should not be too abundant, so that, oppressed beyond the measure of their strength, they should not be able to bear it. But the law which followed subsequently ordained
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.19
… For the hands are here a figure of wedlock as in the passage: “His left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me.” It agrees, also, with this interpretation that the unclean animals are led into Noah’s ark in pairs, while of the clean an uneven number is taken.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 48.19
… “We are meant to understand that there is something not good in the number two, separating us as it does from unity, and prefiguring the marriage-tie. Just as in the account of Noah’s ark all the animals that enter by twos are unclean, but those of which an uneven number is taken are clean.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 123.12
… Likewise of the unclean animals pairs only are taken, male and female, to shew that digamy has no place even among brutes, creeping things, crocodiles and lizards. And if of the clean animals there are seven taken of each kind,
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 8.23
… For how could Abel, without the command of the law, have known that he ought to offer to God a sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof, unless he had been taught by the law which was naturally implanted in him? How could Noah have distinguished what animals were clean and what were unclean,
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Monogamy 4
… they shall be (taken) from all flying animals according to (their) kind, and from all creepers of the earth according to their kind; two out of all shall enter unto thee, male and female.” In the same formula, too, He orders sets of sevens, made up of pairs, to be gathered to him, consisting of male and female—one male and one female.
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Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.7
… His mother Mary was well known, and Joseph the carpenter was supposed to be His father, and it could readily be supposed that He was one of the old prophets risen from the dead. The same person will adduce the text in Genesis,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 1.32
… Wherefore Moses and Elias, and the Mediator Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, fasted forty days, because in the time of this life, continence from the enticements of the body is necessary. Forty years also did the people wander in the wilderness. Forty days the waters of the flood lasted.
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Monogamy 4
But again: the reformation of the second human race is traced from monogamy as its mother. Once more, “two (joined) into one flesh” undertake (the duty of) “growing and multiplying,”—Noah, (namely), and his wife, and their sons, in single marriage.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 5
… Why was this done? Whither was Enoch translated? Lives he on like food with us? and what is it hinders him from being here? Nay, but does he not eat? And wherefore was he translated? Behold how God schooleth us by little and little. He translated Enoch; no very great thing that. This instructed us for the taking up of Elias. He shut in Noe into the ark (
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Soul and its Origin 4.6
… For we have learnt that God is a Trinity; but to this very day we do not know how many kinds of animals, not even of land animals which were able to enter Noah’s ark,
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 15.14
… It is proved by this, that Scripture states that the flood occurred in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life. But why in the same place is it also written, “The waters of the flood were upon the earth in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the twenty-seventh day of the month,”
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 51.5
… If so, why do we read in the account of the deluge that the windows of heaven were opened, and that the waters of the deluge prevailed? in consequence of which the fountains of the deep were opened, and the whole earth was covered with the waters.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 123.12
… is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her.” It is to this choice one that the same John addresses an epistle in these words, “the elder unto the elect lady and her children.” So too in the case of the ark which the apostle Peter interprets as a type of the church, Noah brings in for his three sons one wife apiece and not two.
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 127
“These and other such sayings are recorded by the lawgiver and by the prophets; and I suppose that I have stated sufficiently, that wherever God says, ‘God went up from Abraham,’ or, ‘The Lord spake to Moses,’ and ‘The Lord came down to behold the tower which the sons of men had built,’ or when ‘God shut Noah into the ark,’
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St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.9
The first baptism was that of the flood for the eradication of sin. The second
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 90.10
… the first of which points to the Old Testament through the observation of the Sabbath; the latter to the New, referring to the resurrection of our Lord. Hence the fifteen steps in the Temple. Hence in the Psalms, fifteen “songs of degrees.” Hence the waters of the deluge overtopped the highest mountains by fifteen cubits:
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Soul and its Origin 4.37
… and all things which have the spirit of life.”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 14.16
… We speak also of the spirit of a beast, as it is expressly written in the book of Solomon called Ecclesiastes; “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?” It is written too in Genesis, where it is said that by the deluge all flesh died which “had in it the spirit of life.”
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 3.18
108. In the flood, too, in Noah’s time all flesh died, though just Noah was preserved together with his family.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 15.2
… As I follow no leader save Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is with the chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the church is built! This is the house where alone the paschal lamb can be rightly eaten. This is the ark of Noah, and he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails.
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ALL THY HOUSE,—all thy offspring and family. IN THIS GENERATION.—Among the men of this time.
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Theodoret, Abulensis and Bede think these animals are called clean by anticipation, namely because by the law of Moses in Leviticus XI they were to be determined as clean. But others judge better that the distinction of animals (also of birds, as the Septuagint has it) into clean and unclean, of which Leviticus XI speaks, was also in the law of nature, and this by the instinct of God and the tradition of the ancients; that is, God in the time of the law of nature separated those animals as it were clean for his sacrifices, which later in the time of the law of Moses he separated as it were clean for the Jews for food. Thus St. Chrysostom, Didymus and Pererius. SEVEN AND SEVEN,—that is fourteen, namely seven males and seven females: for fourteen of the clean animals, but four of the unclean animals are thought to have been preserved in the ark by Origen, Justin, Oleaster and Dionysius. But thus there would have been an immense multitude of animals, which the ark could not have held. Therefore better Josephus, St. Ambrose, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Eucherius, Lyra, Abulensis, Cajetan and Pererius thus explain it: Of the clean thou shalt take seven and seven, that is thou shalt take seven in the ark from each of those which are clean, namely one pair for the propagation of the species; a second pair for sacrifice; a third pair for food after the flood; finally a seventh male for offering sacrifice, as soon as the flood ceased, as indeed happened, as soon as it ceased, Noe offered one of each of the clean animals to God in thanksgiving, chapter VIII, 20: thus Pererius; but of the unclean only one pair was preserved in the ark, for the propagation of the species. Symbolically, St. Ambrose, in the book On Noe and the Ark, chapter XII, says that seven are taken, "because the seventh number is pure and sacred. For it is mixed with none, nor is it generated by another, and therefore it is called virgin, because it generates nothing from itself: and thus it has the grace of masculine sanctification."
Disputation on the Phoenix From this passage and other arguments, Pererius and Aldrovandus prove that the phoenix was not in the ark, and consequently that there is or was no phoenix in the world: because Scripture teaches here that from each kind of animal two, namely male and female, were brought into the ark: but the phoenix is said to be one and alone in the world. And certainly there is no one who would assert that he has seen a phoenix. Again, those who assert the phoenix greatly disagree among themselves about it. It appears therefore that the phoenix is a fable; perhaps arising from the fact that the Egyptians painted the sun at Heliopolis, as it were a bird, rising and setting, and they made and fashioned this to be the phoenix, when it was merely a symbol and hieroglyph of the sun, which as it were is alone as a phoenix in the world. This conjecture is favored by the fact that the ancients, as Lactantius and Claudian testify, called the phoenix the bird of the sun, which at its rising would sing most sweetly, and would venerate it with bowed head. Wherefore Pliny, in book X, chapter II, describing the phoenix, says it is a fable, and adds: "A phoenix, he says, was brought to the City in the censorship of the Emperor Claudius, in the eight hundredth year of the City, and was displayed in the comitium, but no one would doubt that it was false." Whence it is remarkable that the Conimbricenses, in book II on the Heavens, chapter III, question 6, article 4, assert that the phoenix exists, and confirm this both from other sources and from these words of Pliny: for Pliny holds the phoenix to be a fable; other ancients who assert the phoenix do not do so from their own opinion, but assert it from the writings of the ancients, whether true or fabulous or symbolic. But the Conimbricenses add that the phoenix is not one, but many; nor does it resurrect itself, but is generated in the common manner; wherefore they posit another phoenix different from that which the ancients posit, as it were a symbol and type of resurrection: and such phoenixes the Abyssinians and others boast of having. For the Conimbricenses and others now agree that there is no such phoenix as is unique and which, dying, is reborn, such as the ancients described. Unless therefore the question be about the name, it must be said that the phoenix does not exist, nor has it existed in the world.
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AND NOE ENTERED INTO THE ARK, AND HIS SONS, HIS WIFE, AND THE WIVES OF HIS SONS. — Note: Only eight men entered the ark and were saved during the flood: of these eight, seven were saved on account of Noe. Enoch meanwhile, while the earth was overwhelmed by waters, was translated elsewhere from paradise. Berosus calls the wife of Noe Tyraea; but he calls the wives of the sons of Noe Pandora, Noella and Noegla. But learned men greatly doubt whether the Berosus whom Annius published is the true and ancient Berosus of the Chaldeans; the Gnostics, as Epiphanius testifies, heresy 26, called the wife of Noe Noria: Epiphanius refutes them, and asserts that she was called Barthenon. Again, that one of these wives was the Sibyl of Babylon, she herself admits, in book I of the Oracles of the Sibyl, after the beginning, where she herself professes that she was with her husband in the ark. But learned men hold this suspect, as if those verses were added by some busybody, to conciliate antiquity and authority to that book of oracles: for what she adds there, that the ark settled not in the mountains of Armenia, but of Phrygia, manifestly contradicts Moses in the following chapter, verse 4. I know that some learned men take these things symbolically, and are of the opinion that the true and primeval Sibyls were not prophetesses as women, but were merely the ancient Kabbalah or Kibylla of the Hebrews (whence the name Sibyl), that is, the doctrine received by tradition from the fathers: for kabal in Hebrew means to receive, to take, to accept from another: hence Kabulla or Sibylla is παράδοσις, or the tradition of the fathers, which Noe, having received it from the preceding age, transmitted to posterity after the flood: just as Lactantius in book I of the Institutes, chapter VI, from Varro judges that Sibyl was called as it were θεοβουλήν, because she announced the counsels of God. For the ancients called gods αἰους, not βίους, and counsel not βουλήν, but βυλήν. If therefore Sibylla is Kabula, or θεοβουλήν, surely she was with Noe, and in Noe was in the ark. But concerning the Sibyls the matter must be disputed elsewhere.
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IN THE SIX HUNDREDTH YEAR OF NOAH'S LIFE — plainly completed, and the 601st begun through 40 days, says Pererius; but the contrary is more true, namely that in the six hundredth year of Noah begun, the flood began: for the flood lasted a whole year, and in the 601st year of Noah, in the second month, it ceased, as is evident from chapter VIII, verse 13. Again, Noah after the flood lived 350 years; but he lived in all 950 years. If the flood had occurred in the 601st year of Noah, since it lasted a whole year, it would follow that Noah lived 951 years, which is false. Moreover, the flood was made in the six hundredth year, says St. Ambrose, in the book On Noah, chapter XIV: "Because on the sixth day Adam was created. The same number, even, is preserved both in the author Adam and in the restoration (Noah); because the source of the sixtieth and six hundredth is the sixth number." Note here the constancy of faith in Noah; for he persisted in faith for one hundred years in the flood, namely from the 500th to the 600th year, and he constantly preached it, even though he was mocked by all his relatives as well, as one seized by vain fear, laboring in foolish toil in the building of the ark for so many years; but these in this year turned their laughter into weeping, and late repentance. Noah was similar to Matthathias, in the first book of Maccabees, chapter II, verse 19.
In the second month, — which in Hebrew is called Iar, and corresponds almost to our May, at least as to its latter part: for the first month of the Hebrews and of Sacred Scripture is Nisan, which corresponds partly to March, partly to April. In May therefore the flood began, and this so that God might show that the cause of the flood was not natural from rain and winter showers, but was effected by special providence of God, at the beginning of summer, when heats and droughts were beginning. So that therefore the grief of the impious might be greater, God destroyed them at that most pleasant time, when they promised themselves nothing but joy. "They were eating and drinking," as Christ says in Luke XVII, 27; and St. Ambrose, in the book On Noah, chapter XIV: "Then," he says, "he made the flood, when their grief would be greater, who were punished in their abundance, then the vengeance more terrible as if God were saying, etc. Let all things perish with man, for whom all things were born. Let man be consumed in his riches, let him die with his wealth." The same judgment befell the rich man of the Gospel who, having gathered many goods, promised himself a luxurious life thereafter; but on that very night he perished. The same befell King Nebuchadnezzar; the same Haman; the same Herod, Acts, chapter XII. This is what Christ says: "At what hour you know not, the Son of Man will come;" and Paul: "When they shall say, Peace and security, then shall sudden destruction come upon them." Let no one therefore trust in worldly prosperity. "For the hope of the wicked is as the down that is carried away by the wind," Wisdom V, 15. Josephus, however, beginning the year from September, calls this second month Marchesuan (for thus it should be read, not Marsesona), which corresponds to our October, when rains abound; but what I said before is more true. Finally, Antonius Fonseca in the Annotations to Cajetan, in chapter VIII of Genesis, and Torniellus think that the month of Noah's entering and exiting the ark was January, which they say was therefore consecrated to Noah himself by the first Gentiles afterward, and named from him: since indeed Noah was called Janus by them; whom for this reason they feigned to be two-faced, because Noah saw both the old and the new year and age. But I do not see a solid foundation for this opinion; for January was not the second month among the Hebrews, whether you take the sacred year or the common and civil year: although Torniellus attempts to show this subtly, page 107.
On the seventeenth day of the month. — Cedrenus asserts that this day was a Sunday: for he relates that the flood both began and ceased, and came to an end on a Sunday, and certain others as well, regarding which let faith be with them. WERE BROKEN OPEN — In Hebrew nibkeu, that is, by the force and violence of the waters were split, torn, broken, burst open.
ALL FOUNTAINS,—all springs, all streams, all openings, all veins, all aqueducts pouring forth from the abyss: so that the water of the abyss could no longer be restrained by its streams, veins, channels and aqueducts, but breaking through them inundated all things, and made as it were one sea throughout the whole earth: whence when the flood ceased, the waters were drawn back into this abyss of theirs, and shut up therein, since, as Scripture says, "the fountains of the abyss were shut up." OF THE GREAT ABYSS,—that is, of many abysses. For beneath the earth there are many abysses, that is, chasms of waters. Whence for "great" in Hebrew is rabba, that is, many. Thus Pererius and Delrio. But since in Hebrew it is not theomot, that is abyss, but theom, that is abyss, and rabba, that is many, by an enallage familiar to the Hebrews, it is the same as great, as our translator renders it: others more truly think that here the abyss is called a great chasm, or that subterranean gulf, the greatest and deepest, which then from the waters shut up therein at the beginning of the world by God, and from the sea, is most full of waters; which many think to be the mother of all rivers, fountains and fresh waters, of which I spoke at chapter I, verse 9. For this is called in Hebrew theom, both here and in Deuteronomy XXXIII, 13, where it is called in Hebrew theom robetset tachat, that is, the abyss lying beneath: which our translator renders the abyss lying under; that such an abyss or subterranean gulf of waters exists, both from manifold experience, and from various arguments, and from the authority of Plato, St. Jerome, St. Basil, Damascene, Philo, Pliny, Isidore, St. Thomas, Bernard and others, indeed even from the places of Holy Scripture already cited, the Conimbricenses teach in their treatise 9 on the Meteora, chapter IX, and Valesius in his Sacred Philosophy chapter LXIII. For although there are many chasms of waters beneath the earth, yet all these are reckoned to be one subterranean gulf, or abyss, especially because it is likely that all are joined to one another by veins and passages, and come together in some primary and greater gulf as in a mother. From this abyss therefore waters bursting forth in great abundance, like rivers, nay like seas, covered the earth: for every sea is joined and united with the abyss already mentioned through veins; whence by abyss here, seas also are understood: for the abyss is a gulf of waters, both those contained in the earth and those contained in the sea. You will say: Therefore there was then a void in the sea and abyss. I answer there was not, partly because air entered into the abyss in place of water; partly because God then rarefied the waters of the sea and abyss, by which it came to pass that these required a greater space, and spread themselves not only through their channels, but also through the earth. Note: all the fountains were broken, as if to say, So great was the force and abundance of water bursting forth from the abyss and sea, that it pervaded all its fountains, limits and barriers, and poured itself forth on all sides, and overwhelmed the whole earth; just as torrents do when confined to the earth, while by the force of waters they enlarge, break through, rupture their outlets, channels and barriers, by which as it were they were shut up in prisons, and burst forth on all sides and inundate all things.
AND THE CATARACTS OF HEAVEN WERE OPENED.—"Cataracts," say Eugubinus and Oleaster, are openings which God made in heaven, or the firmament, so that through them the waters which are above the firmament might flow down: for on account of the flood they think these waters were stored up there by God at the beginning of the world; but in this way not only the firmament but also all the heavens of the planets would have had to split, which is improbable. Secondly, Peter of Ailly, and others whom Pererius cites, page 252, understand by cataracts constellations, by whose natural force the flood was brought about; but this is contrary to this verse and verse 4. I say therefore that the cataracts of heaven are here called by catachresis clouds, and the second region of the air itself, divided into many parts and regions, which contains and restrains within itself vapors and waters as it were by barriers and certain cataracts, as if to say, The clouds, and the second region of the air itself, with such mighty force of the flood poured down the greatest force of waters upon the earth, that the whole air seemed to be broken into vast openings, through which it poured forth not so much drops and rains as the densest showers, like streams and rivers, so that the air now seemed not air but a continuous rain, nay a sea. Thus St. Chrysostom, Rupertus and Pererius; for cataracts are named from καταρήγυμι, that is, I rush headlong downward. Whence when these cataracts were broken, Moses adds: "And rain was made upon the earth forty days." The cause of the flood was twofold, one from above, namely rain bursting forth from the cataracts of heaven; the other from below, namely the eruption and inundation of the abyss, so that the earth in the middle was invaded and overwhelmed by waters from both sides.
The Cause and Magnitude of the Flood Indeed it is difficult to perceive whence such a great abundance of waters, which would cover the whole earth, nay, would exceed the highest mountains by fifteen cubits, came forth. For it is established that certain mountains are elevated to four Italian miles, or to four thousand paces, and rise above the earth: such is the height of the Alps ascending gradually. But if the waters were equally high everywhere on earth, as it appears (and Scripture signifies this in chapter viii, verse 3, where it says that Noah's ark, floating in the waters of the flood, these gradually decreasing, finally rested in the seventh month upon the mountains of Armenia, and in the tenth month the peaks of other mountains appeared: therefore the waters had covered up to that point), surely the circumference of the waters was immense, which would easily contain in itself four seas and more, as is evident to one who geometrically expends and measures this space: for the higher one ascends, the more the capacity of the circumference dilates, and increases gradually in geometric progression to an immense quantity. For the sea is far less than the earth, and appears to be not much greater than mountains and hills; in their place it succeeded. For God first elevated mountains from the round earth, so that by this He might make in it hollows and ditches, into which He would lead the waters, which previously covered the earth, so that the earth, empty of waters, could be inhabited. Therefore the sea contributed little to such a flood. Again, vapors elevated from the earth and air do not appear to have been able to contribute the remainder: for in order that water be made from vapor and air, a great condensation of air must occur. For ten ounces of air, nay far more, will not produce one ounce of water. Wherefore even if the greater part of air had been converted into water, it scarcely appears to have sufficed to produce such a mass of waters, even if you assert that God extended and expanded them by rarefaction, especially because if the waters had been greatly rarefied, they would certainly have been very subtle, light and airy: whence the ark, so heavy and laden, could not have floated and remained on them. Add to this, then in place of the air converted into water and condensed, other bodies ought to have succeeded, or an immense vacuum would have been left, which nature abhors; or certainly new water, or new air would have to be created by God, and after the flood annihilated, which also appears absurd. Wherefore certain learned men say that they are compelled by the reasons already set forth to confess with Oleaster and the Eugubine that the waters which caused the flood were those which were originally placed in great abundance above the heavens by God for this purpose, and therefore God made in the firmament cataracts or passages, through which these waters descended: for this the plain narrative of Moses appears to require. For since we find true waters in the heavens suitable for the flood, there is no need to investigate so many and such great changes of air. Add that many ancient and modern thinkers hold that the heavens are not solid, but liquid and fissile like air or ether: which if you grant, the waters could easily descend through them. But lest the place of the upper waters be empty, either air and ether succeeded, which with the upper waters appears to have exchanged place at the time of the flood; or certainly the remaining waters, which above the heavens remained at the time of the flood, God rarefied, so that they might fill the place of the waters of their companions, which were descending. Furthermore, they say, God accelerated the descent of the waters by a singular impulse; for if they had descended by natural motion, they would have spent in descent from so high and remote a place more than a hundred years, as I showed in chapter 1, verse 14. St. Peter favors this opinion, in his second epistle, chapter III, verse 5, where if you accurately weigh the words, he appears to say that the world perished by the waters of the flood, that is, the heaven and the earth, just as the same will perish at the end by fire of conflagration. Therefore just as not only the elements, but the very heavens themselves, as he says in verse 12, by this fire "being burned shall be dissolved;" so likewise they appear in the flood to have been split and overwhelmed by waters, so that in a certain way they may be considered to have perished. For this the full antithesis of St. Peter appears to require; whence in verse 5, he says: "That the heavens were before, and the earth," etc., "by which the world then perished, inundated by water; but the heavens that now are," etc., "are reserved for fire," as if to say, The former world and heavens perished by the flood: but the heavens, which after the flood were restored by God, and now exist, are similarly reserved for fire, so that by it they may be consumed and perish; wherefore he adds in verse 13: "But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to his promises." It is added that Esdras, book IV, chapter vi, verse 41, calls the firmament spirit, that is, air or ether: for he himself calls this spirit, as is evident from verse 39. Thus they, who, positing this principle, that the heavens are liquid or fissile, do not reason badly, and give an easy and clear cause for waters so great as were required for the flood. But because Aristotle and the Philosophers deny this principle, and because those waters above the heavens are subtle and celestial, and very far removed from the earth: therefore I respond and say, first, that the sea alone could not have caused such a flood: for the flood was far greater than all the sea. For the sea with respect to the earth is small: for when it was separated from the earth, it succeeded only in the place of ditches and trenches, from which the mountains were raised; wherefore it almost equals the mountains in its quantity, as has already been said. Again, sailors who have explored the depth of the sea with a sounding line assert that the sea, in its middle, where it is deepest, is commonly not deeper than half an Italian mile, that is, five hundred paces: whereas the semi-diameter of the earth is three thousand miles, as mathematicians teach everywhere. What is half a mile, even at the highest and therefore most ample surface of the earth, if compared with three thousand miles, which is the measure of the depth of the earth from the surface to the center? Moreover, the sea scarcely covers half the surface of the earth, nor any mountains; indeed Esdras, book IV, chapter vi, verse 42, says that the waters and sea occupy only the seventh part of the earth. Wherefore when these are reduced to calculation, it follows that the sea is scarcely the thousandth part of the earth: but the space to which the flood extended over the earth contained the two hundred and thirty-eighth part of the earth, as I shall presently say; which number contains a thousand four times and more, so that to fill this space to which the flood extended, four seas would not have sufficed, unless you say that the sea was rarefied to four times its usual density by God. I say secondly: The cause of the flood was vapors raised from the globe of the earth and sea and again resolved there into rain. For which note: If you suppose the flood to have extended five Italian miles over the earth: for it covered the highest mountains to fifteen cubits; but some mountains rise to four miles above the earth. Let us suppose therefore for easier calculation that the flood extended five miles over the earth, I say this space of five miles is nothing but the two hundred and thirty-eighth part of the globe of the earth, as skilled mathematicians showed me at Rome by working out the calculations. Now it was easy for God to turn the 238th part of the earth, to which the sea is mixed, into vapors, and to convert them into rains: these therefore would have filled all this space of five miles. Add that water is ten times rarer than earth: wherefore the said number 238 of the portion of earth, sufficient to fill the space of five miles already mentioned, must be multiplied by ten; which if you do, you get 2380: wherefore the 2380th part of the earth resolved into vapors and rains sufficed to fill this space of five miles. What is the 2380th part of the earth compared to the whole globe of the earth? But in place of this portion of the earth going into vapors, air and water succeeded, dilated by rarefaction, and expanded more than usual. Finally, God was able to rarefy and extend the rain in like manner: which being granted, a much smaller portion of the earth and rains sufficed to fill this space. It is also probable that God converted part of the air into rain and water. Three elements therefore, namely air, water and earth, concurred to cause such a flood. I have explained the passage of St. Peter in the Commentaries on his Epistle.
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The cause of this so continuous rain was the constant multiplication and conversion of vapors into waters; for God then continually resolved vapors, air and other things into waters throughout 40 days, and mercifully rained them down, not all at once, but gradually, so that meanwhile men might be terrified and repent, says St. Chrysostom. Note: Oleaster thinks that it rained not only during these 40 days, but also during the 150 following days, continuously. But Scripture asserts only that it rained for 40 days, which sufficiently indicates that the rain ceased after 40 days. Thus Abulensis and Pererius.
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IN THAT VERY DAY (in the point of that day; in Hebrew it is בעצם היום beetsem haiom, in the bone of the day, that is, in the subsistence (for bones give firm subsistence to the body) of that day, namely on that day the 17th of the second month, in the 600th year of Noah) ENTERED, — namely ultimately and completely, Noah with all into the ark. For it must be noted from verses 1, 4 and 7, that Noah began to enter into the ark seven days before the flood, and during those days gradually brought food and animals into the ark, so that on the very day of the flood, which was the seventeenth of the second month, all things and all had perfectly entered. This entry therefore signifies here an act not begun but completed and perfect. For God's clemency willed that during these seven days, by the preparation which Noah was making, and by the continuous bringing of animals and food into the ark, men should be warned of the impending flood, and moved to repentance. Thus St. Ambrose, Tostatus and Pererius.
7:14
Birds are those which have feathers: flying creatures are those which have wings, whether they be feathers or little membranes, such as the bat has.
7:16
THE LORD SHUT HIM IN FROM WITHOUT,—namely, the door of the ark on the outside, against the waters, by smearing it with bitumen, which Noah, being already shut up in the ark, could not do. Whence the Hebrew texts have, the Lord shut for him; or, as Vatablus translates it, after him. See how great a care and providence God has for Noah and his own.
7:17
Tropologically, St. Ambrose, in the book On Noah, XIII: "The appearance of the flood," he says, "is a type of the purification of our soul. Therefore, when our mind has washed itself from the allurements of the things of this world, by which it was formerly delighted, it will also wipe away the filth of former desires with good thoughts, as if absorbing the turbidity of previously bitter streams with purer waters." and they overthrew cities, uprooted trees, and laid all sown things and sprouts level with the ground; indeed then, as Ovid sings: All was sea, and shores were wanting to the sea. Note here again the constancy of faith, hope and patience in Noah. For he was in most grievous trials, so that it is a wonder he did not despair: first, he was forced to leave his home, friends and all things, indeed to see their destruction; second, as if shut up in a prison and darkness, and in the stench of animals; third, he was shaken with terror seeing such great wrath of God, and waters bursting in from all sides, indeed seeing nothing but present death. For if men fear in the sea and waves, how much did Noah fear? fourth, he could fear lest God would also abandon him for some fault; fifth, he did not know how long the tempest would last; sixth, he did not see a way out: for the ark was shut; seventh, the destruction of all men and animals tormented him; eighth, he labored to console and strengthen his own in the ark, lest they should despair. Who in such great trials would not have succumbed, and preferred to die? Yet Noah endured and overcame all these things, relying on God alone, and on His promise and providence, because there was no other help or counsel. Thus God exercises and perfects His own, while He takes away all supports from them, so that they commit themselves wholly to God. Let us also learn to unite ourselves to God in any straits and to hope in Him especially. For the Lord is He who "killeth and maketh alive: bringeth down to hell, and bringeth back again." What wonder then if Paul praises Noah for faith, Hebrews xi, 7, and Ecclesiasticus, cap. XLIV, 17.
7:20
Therefore the flood reached even to the middle region of the air: for Olympus and other very high mountains reach there; therefore the flood also buried and destroyed paradise. Some think that fire of the conflagration at the end of the world will increase by the same amount, namely fifteen cubits above the earth and mountains, and St. Augustine hints at this, lib. III On Genesis Literally, cap. II, and proves it from II Peter cap. III, verses 5 and 7. False therefore is what Cajetan thought, that the mountains which are said here to be covered with waters are those which are beneath the aerial sky, not those which exceed the middle region of the air, such as he himself says Olympus and Atlas are: for this contradicts Holy Scripture here, which asserts that all the mountains of the earth were overcome and buried by the flood, as St. Augustine rightly observes, lib. XV On the City XXVII. The foundation also of Cajetan, namely that some mountains exceed the middle region of the air, or the place of rain and snow, is false; for the summit of Atlas is known to be covered with snows. Note: The water exceeded all mountains by fifteen cubits, lest the longest giants, or any other vast animal, could be preserved on the summit of the highest mountain. Wherefore what the Jews hand down, that Og king of Bashan was one of those giants of whom it is said cap. vi, and that standing on the highest mountain he escaped the flood, and they prove this from the fact that it is said Deut. III, 10: "Only Og remained of the race of giants," is a fable, for thus Og would have been 800 years old: for there are so many years from the flood until the entrance of the Hebrews into Chanaan, when Og was slain by them, Deut. III, 3.
The Life of Noah in the Ark You will ask, what did Noah do with his own during the whole time in the ark? Torniellus answers that he pitied all the others perishing, and congratulated himself on his own safety in the ark, and gave thanks to God; second, he devoted himself to prayers and contemplation; third, he cared for himself and all the animals, giving them food and drink, sweeping out the filth into the bilge, and from there lifting it out by a pump or buckets, and casting it outside the ark through the little windows which were above; finally he managed the whole business of the ark.
7:22
AND ALL THINGS WHEREIN THERE IS THE BREATH OF LIFE ON EARTH, DIED. — The Hebrew texts have it word for word thus: and all of which the breath of spirit (that is, the breath of respiration or breathing) of life in his nostrils from all things which are on dry land, died, that is, all things whatsoever on earth that breathe died. Whence the Zurich version translates: and whatever was in whose nostrils breathed the breath of life, from all things which dwelt on dry ground, died; Vatablus: had now perished. He adds on dry ground on account of fish, which dwell in moisture, namely in water: for these remained alive and surviving. Pagninus: "All in whose face was the breath of life, from all things which were on dry ground, died." But the Septuagint thus: "And all things whatsoever had the spirit of life, and all who was upon dry ground, died." The Chaldean: "All in which is the breath of the spirit of life in their nostrils, from all things which are on dry ground, died."
7:24
Note that these 150 days are not to be reckoned separately after the 40 days of rain of which verse 12 speaks (as Josephus, Chrysostom, Tostatus, and Cajetan wish), but that they include them; for from the 17th day of the second month, when the rain and flood began, until the 27th day of the seventh month, when the ark rested in the mountains of Armenia with the waters diminished, as is found in cap. viii, 4, there pass between them 160 days; therefore in the first 40 days it rained rain, by which the earth and all mountains were covered to fifteen cubits: then through the following one hundred and ten days, the water remained in this state and depth, after which it began to decrease, so that on the tenth day after the ark rested in the mountains of Armenia: for so many days in all are numbered, from the 17th day of the second month, when the flood began, until the 27th day of the seventh month, when the ark rested, namely 160 days, which ought to be divided and distributed in the manner which I have already said. Thus Lyra, Hugo, and Pererius.
The Horror of the Flood Horrible was this spectacle of the flood: gradually, what will be the flood of fire in hell? Consider how terrible God is in his counsels over the sons of men, how terrible is his justice and vengeance. "The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods have lifted up their waves, at the noise of the waters. Wonderful are the surges of the sea, wonderful is the Lord on high." What then will it be on the day of judgment, which will similarly overwhelm all suddenly? Hear Christ himself, the very truth, Matt. cap. xxiv, 37: "As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the coming of the Son of man. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and they knew not till the flood came and took all away: so also shall it be in the coming of the Son of man." The horror of the flood. Then, says Hugo the Cardinal from St. Bernard, the ways will be narrow on all sides for the reprobate. Above will be an angry judge; below, a horrible chaos; on the right, sins accusing; on the left, infinite demons dragging to punishment; within, a burning conscience; without, a burning world. The wretched sinner caught, where will you flee? To hide will be impossible, to appear intolerable. If you ask, who will accuse you? I say, the whole world: because, the Creator being offended, every creature hates the offender, namely the sinner. Horror as the waters grew: trembling mothers ran about through the houses with their little ones, not knowing where they were going; others rose fearfully from the table and sought escape; from their beds the bridegroom and bride rushed out, he fleeing this way, she that way, to avoid the leaping wave; you would have seen some suddenly climbing to the upper parts of houses, others even to the peaks of roofs; some also climbing the branches of lofty trees, others hastening to the ridges of hills and mountains, but in vain: for no one was able to escape this force and rush of the waters; everywhere fear, everywhere trembling. O how they grieved then, that they had not heard Noe threatening these things, but had mocked him! O Noe, how wise you were, they said, O we wretched ones, how mad, how foolish we were! O if it were now allowed to enter the ark, how we would wish to be shut up in it for our whole life! We were able at some time, but we were unwilling; now we are willing, but we are not able. The Phrygians are wise too late. From these and similar things you see how horrible the flood was; that you may see and grasp it more, imagine yourself standing on the peak of a mountain, and see the waters inundating the whole earth, leveling all things, swallowing men and animals, overthrowing fortresses and cities, increasing, and surpassing all mountains, and thus at last reaching you standing on the peak, and likewise swallowing and submerging you. Hence learn what sin is, which brought this calamity upon the whole world; and if such was the flood of water on earth, what will be the flood of fire in hell?
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
7:1
v. 4 « Dixitque Dominus ad eum : Ingredere tu et omnis domus tua in arcam : te enim » — « solum », merito ex contextu supplet Cai. — « vidi iustum coram me in generatione hac », non « in generationibus his » (cf. 6,9) : ibi Noe dicebatur iustus in omnibus, quibuscum successive vixerat, generationibus; hic unus iustus dicitur in una generatione diluvio exstinguenda. Vox utique non prodit diversum scriptorem. Cf. etiam 9,12.
7:2
v. 2 « Ex omnibus animantibus mundis tolle septena et septena, masculum et feminam ; de animantibus vero immundis duo et duo, masculum et feminam ». Contra Hebr. Chald. wv, Vulg. LXX Sam. Syr. aiv mv, quae lectio omnino praeferenda. Expressio de se potest significare 0zna i. e. par unum, et similiter 1y2v nyav septena i. e. septem (Theodoret., Aug. etc.). At intelligi paria duo seu animalia quatuor , et paria septena seu animalia quatuordecim (Iac. Edess.; Ps. Iustin. : Quaestio 43 ad Orthod. ; M. 6. 1287), ostendit adiectum masculum et feminam, quo docemur totum animantium numerum aequis portionibus dividi in mares ef feminas. Idem confirmatur Gen. 7,9. 15, ubi animalia dicuntur ingressa esse arcam bina et bina, sane ita ut mas et femina eiusdem speciei simul graderentur : ergo erant omnia numeris paribus, non imparibus. Recepía fuere plura numero animalia munda quam immunda, primum quod illorum aliqua sacrificiis mox essent destruenda, dein quod animalia munda homini quoque ad victum et vestitum procurandum sint utiliora (Jac. Edess.).
7:3
v. 3 « Sed et de volatilibus coeli septena et septena, masculum et feminam, ut salvetur semen super faciem, universae terrae ». LXX hunc versum omnino conformat v. 2, ut septena scribat mundorum, bina immundorum volatilium. At longe probabilior est lectio Sam. Syr., solam vocem nen inserentium : Sed et de volatilibus mundis septena et septena etc.; de immundis bina et bina esse recipienda, per se intelligitur. Masculus et femina semper exprimitur j33p21 *27 (6, 19; 7, 3. 9. 16), solum 7, 2 bis DUNT UN: quare diversos recentiores inferunt auctores. At si scriptor cap. 7 altera delectabatur expressione, cur priorem habet 7,3? Quod in avibus, suggerit Del., minus evidenter sexus distinguuntur (!); Dilim. autem v. 3 attribuit redactori. At v. 3 intime connecti cum v. 2 patet cum per se, tum collatis 6, 19 sq.; 7, 8. 14.215, 8,17. Permittatur auctori sacro usus expressionum synonymarum. Tandem Sam. 7, 2 bis legit 33531 125. consentiuntque versiones omnes; quo tota in levem aerem dissolvitur dificultas. | v. kh « Adhuc enim, et post dies septem », computandos non ab'ingressu arcae (Est.), sed ab hoc Dei mandato (Mar.), qui septem dies utique recipiendis in arcam animalibus (EpAr.) impendebantur, ut non sine stupendo prorsus miraculo, nisi probetur haud supponendo, potuerint animalia e dissitis terrae zonis adduci, « ego pluam super terram quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus et delebo omnem substantiam , quam feci, de superficie terrae ». Comparat Chrys. Yon. 3,& : « Adhuc quadraginta dies et Ninive subvertetur »; et infert, ut Ninivitas , ita antediluvianos, si septiduo illo resipuissent, potuisse impetrare salutem. Yulg. Syr. 5 recte vertunt post. *"y uti Is. 10, 25 abhinc, ergo post dies abhinc septem. Insolita sane constructio adhuc enim et potestque quaeri, legeritne Vulg. textum hebr. nonnihil diversum, ubi conferas Ps. 140 (141), 5. — ap vi etymi significat id, quod stat (Chald. Syr.); LXX hic et v. 23 &v&ctqp« vel 3&aváotaaw, sed Deut. 11, 6 bzóc:act, Monet Bonfr. post Kimchi vocem intelligi oportere de animalibus, quod reapse suggerit contextus; neque alia practer animalia substantiarum genera diluvio destructa esse, patet exemplo rami olivae, quem post diluvium attulit columba (Mar.). Num. 16,32, in loco ad Deut. 11, 6 parallelo, habetur quidem qQ"2* possessio, sed hanc quoque vocem primitus animalia designasse colligas ex v2", equo veloci, vertuntque ib. LXX xvíjvq. — Porro D"p' nonnisi 7, 4. 23 legitur et a recentioribus iahvistae idiomatibus accensetur. Duo textus unicum efficiunt testimonium, altero id effectum describente, quod prior efficiendum nuntiarat. Substantia illud confusius designat, quod alias distinetius dicitur omnis caro, ut mirum non Sit expressionem confusiorem secus non adhiberi.
7:5
v. 9 « Fecit ergo Noe omnia, quae mandaverat ei Dominus », of. 6,22. Putat Budde p. 251, vocem omn?a referri ad solos v. 2 sq. de tollendis animalibus, cum ipsius Noe v. 1 ?ngressus narretur v. 1 : at v. 7 sqq. narratur ingressus non solius Noe et familiae sed animalium etiam. Ergo vox omnza refertur ad v. 1-3 praecepta, quorum impletio v. 5. brevi formula exprimitur, v. 1-9 per singula describitur.
7:6
v. 6 « Eratque sezcentorum annorum, quando diluvii aquae inundaverunt super terram ».
Arg. — Sollicitus iam est s. auctor de tempore coepti diluvii accurate definiendo. Et primum quidem 7,6 tradit, qua aetate fuerit Noe arcam ingrediens; inde 7,11 per annum, mensem, diem diluvii initium. Utrobique subnectit descriptionem intratae arcae et quidem, v. 7-9 verbis 7,2 sq., at vero v. 13-16 verbis 6,19 sq. magis imitantibus, quo evidentior evadat assertio 7,16, facta esse omnia, « sicut praeceperat ei Deus ». Est hoc omnino e genio narrationis hebraeae neque diversos necessario prodit scriptores. Vide tamen, quae diximus in Introd.
7:7
v. 1 « Et ingressus est Noe et filii eius, uxor eius et uxores filiorum etus cum eo in arcam propter aquas diluvii ».
7:8
v. 8 « De animantibus quoque mundis et àÀmmundis, et de volucribus » — mundas et immundas etiam hic uti v. 3 perperam distinguit LXX — « et ez omni, quod movetur super terram »,
7:9
v. 9 « duo et duo » 1. e. bina, non enim scribitur h. l. absolutus numerus ingredientium, sed sexuum differentia notatur — « engressa sunt ad Noe in arcam, masculus et femina , sicut praeceperat Dominus Noe ».
7:10
v. 10 « Cumque transissent septem dies, aquae diluvii inundaverunt super terram ». Quod Deus v. 4 minatus fuerat, ostenditur esse impletum. Solus iahvista, inquiunt, 7, 7. 10 expressione utitur on 2v3n *). Falsum est, eadem legitur 9, 11. Praeterea etiam secus utraque vox legitur (cf. 7,17; 9, 15), licet prior non scribatur statu constructo : at, num ille status constructus reapse est aliquid iahvistae ita exclusive proprium? Est et alia expressio durior, ideoque gravioris in hae disputatione momenti yos oy DY o2, quae legitur 7, 17 et 7, 7, i. e. semel in pericope, quae iahvistae tribuitur. Haec omnia nullam ad demonstrandos diversos auctores vim habent. Iam redit auctor v. 11 sq. ad distinctius, narrandum id, quod v. 6 succincte indicaverat; et quidem tam tempus, quo diluvium inceperit, quam eiusdem rationem accuratius demonstrat.
7:11
v. 11 « Anno sexcentesimo vitae Noe, mense secundo, septimo decimo die mensis » — LXX vicesimo septimo, sc. in vocibus nv vy errore reduplicabatur litera *. Reliqui hic habent, quod ignorat Vulg., in die illo : studebat sc. auctor tempus, quam poterat accuratissime , describere — « rupti sunt omnes fontes abyssi magnae et cataractae coeli apertae sunt ». 8,5 die 1* mensis 10! seu Tammuz ([un.-Iul.) apparuerunt cacumina montium. 8, 13 die 1* mensis 1! seu Tisri (Sept.-Oct.) sequentis anni exsiccata est superficies terrae. 8, 14 die 27* mensis 2! seu Marchesvan (Oct.-Nov.) arefacta est Notaverat iam ZEphr., textum tribuere diluvio durationem unius anni solaris seu 363 dierum, sc. unum annum lunarem 3354 dierum additis diebus undecim a 1'77* ad 27*? diem mensis 2'. Comparanda h. 1l. est etiam Zerosi assertio (ap. Polyhistor. et Abyden.), diluvium incepisse die 19* mensis Daisii, i. e. Sivan (Mai.-Iun.). Sed, si supponas erronee scripsisse Daisium pro Dio, quae nomina non ita multum differunt, habebis idem fere atque in Genesi tempus, Dius enim est Marchesvan. Narratio cuneiformis, qualis ad nos pervenit, tempus, quo diluvium inceperit non commemorat; septem Scribit dies tam pluviae, quam subsistentis ad montem Nizir usque ad dimissas aves navis; sc. haec narratio plura videtur ad numeruui sacrum septenarium revocasse. 1,94; 8,3 obtinuerunt aquae terram 750 diebus, quibus elapsis coeperunt eaedem minui; in his autem 150 diebus videntur includi 7, 17 dies 40 pluviarum etc. 8,6 à die, quo apparuerunt cacumina montium , usque ad dimissum corvum effluxere dies 40. 8,7sqq. ab emisso corvo ad emissam primum columbam effluxere secundum v. 10 septem dies; videtur illa eodem, quo dimissa fuerat die, in arcam esse reversa. 8, 10 sq. — exspectatis 7 diebus emissa rursum 4^ die est columba rediitque eodem die vespere. 8, 12 exspectatis 7 diebus rursum emittitur columba. ficie terrae 1* die 1! mensis alterius anni usque ad penitus arefactam terram 27* die 2! mensis, effluxerint dies 56, qui additi 260 efficiunt 316 : ergo pro lempore a dimisso corvo ad exsiccatam superficiem terrae, relinquuntur dies 49 (365 — 316 — 49). Ergo post emissam tertio columbam, quod factum esse videtur 24 (— "1 -]- 7 -]- 7) diebus post emissum corvum, exspectavit Noe dies 28 seu quatuor hebdomadas et tum tandem perspexit , superficiem Lerrae esse exsiccatam. Notabat An., ab Octobri ad Martiuns esse in Mesopotamia quotannis pluvias; additque Len. I. 44 mensem Iulium, quo cacumina montium apparuisse scribuntur, esse tempus anni ibidem aridissimum. Cave tamen ne diluvium inde totum repetas, quod fluvii alveis excesserint : inundatio tanta a solis fluviis proficisci haud potuit, scriptura diserte asserit reclusos praeterea esse fontes abyssi magnae, i. e. oceani. Utique illud anni tempus selegit Deus, quo fluviorum quoque tumescerent aquae. v. 11 rupti sunt fontes etc. Tamen animalia (v. 14) non necessario intelli- . genda sunt ipso illo primo diluvii die, sed potius hebdomada ante (v. 4. 10) ingressa esse; quorum h. l. mentio adiicitur, non quod eodem cum Noe die, sed quod sicut ipse et secundum Dei mandatum inegressa sint — « 2ngressus est Noe et Sem et Cham et laphet, filii eius, uror illus et tres uxores filiorum etus cum eis in arcam »; v. 1k « 2pst et omne animal » — intellige feras — « secundum genus suum , universaque iumenta in genere suo, et omne quod movetur super terram in genere suo, cunctumque volatile secundum genus suum , universae aves omnesque volucres ». Recte vertit Vulg. : sc. terminus universalior volatile in duas classes secernitur : aves "2Y, quae vox nonnisi veri nominis aves designat, « et quidquid habet alas » (Valabl.), v. g. insecta.
7:12
v. 19. « Et facta est pluvia super terram quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus ». Non omnes illico interiere, sed tempus concedebatur poenitentiae (Chrys.).
7:13
v. 13 « In articulo diei illius » — nimis ad literam Vulg. vertit vocem QXY2 : sensus est 7//o ?pso die , quo sc.
7:15
v. 15 « Ingressae sunt ad Noe in arcam , bina et bina ez omn? carne , in qua erat spiritus vitae ». Rursumque uti v. 9 inculeatur, expressione 5zna et bina enuntiari, non numerum animalium absolutum, sed differentiam sexuum, ad propagationem specierum fam necessariam :
7:16
v. 16 « Et quae ingressa sunt, masculus et femina ex omni carne introierunt , sicut praeceperat ei Deus; et inclusit eum. Dominus deforis ». Heb. clausit eum post, siveipse manu sua, sive iubens Noe claudere, quod alterum habet narratio cuneiformis. Sane non linivit ostium deforis bitumine (Sa). Ostenditur Dei erga Noe benigna providentia. Sequentis diluvii descriptionis commendat De/. simplicitatem, dignitatem, pulchritudinem omnis artificii ignaram. Repetitis iisdem formulis coactisque simile sonantibus verbis (133" 23") depingitur mare illud continuum , interminum, immane; dum arcae securitatem exprimunt voces a litera n longam induta vocalem incipientes : nnn pnm, nann qom. Exhibentur primüm v. 17 aquae succrescentes arcamque elevantes; v. 18 eaedem vehementer increscentes et arca super eas quiete delata;
7:17
v. 17 « Factumque est diluvium quadraginta diebus » naturalibus (Sa; cf. v. &. 19) « super terram »; ergo non est necesse cum LXX supplere et quadraginta noctibus. « Et multiplicatae sunt aquae et elevaverunt arcam n sublime a terra ».
7:18
v. 18 « Vehementer enim inundaverunt et omnia repleverunt £n superficie terrae ». Simplicius Hebr. : et invaluerunt aquae et multiplicatae sunt vehementer super terram. « Porro arca ferebatur super aquas ».
7:19
v. 19 sqq. aquae praevalentes nimis (TN 1312) omniaque absorbentes, solo Noe in arca sospite. v. 19 « Et aquae praevaluerunt nzmis super terram opertique sunt omnes montes excelsi sub universo cólo » ,i. e. « altissimi quique montes » sos.
7:20
v. 20 « Quindectm cubitisaltior fuit aqua super montes , quos operuerat ». Non ideo tot cubitis excessit aqua montium cacumina, quo nullus gigas , quantumvis procerus, evaderet (Bonfr.) : quippe tam immanes exstitisse gigantes gratuito adstruuntur. At quomodo Noe aquarum altitudinem est mensus? Boliden iactasse, videtur Jac. Edess. suggerere : at tota arcae descriptio prodit hominem artis nauticae ideoque etiam bolidis ignarum. Supponit De/. , arcam tot animalibus onustam altitudine quindecim cubitorum fuisse aquis immersam atque exinde, quod nullibi haeserit, intulisse Noe aquas vel montium cacumina quindecim cubitis excessisse. At nimis incerta esset illatio haec : qui norat Noe, arcam praecise super altissima cacumina, non vero praeter illa vi aquarum fuisse delatam? Facilior solutio haec erit, ut supponas exstitisse in cacuminibus illis arbores quasdam quindecim fere cubitorum altitudinis; quas cum ipsis montibus submersas cernens Noe recte iudicavit, totidem cubitis aquas montibus esse altiores.
7:21
v. 91 « Consumptaque est omnis caro, quae movebatur super terram , volucrum , animantium, bestiarum », — ultimae duae voces exprimunt 2umenta et feras — « omniumque reptiltum , quae reptant super terram. Universi homines » — quas voces feapse aptius Vulg. sequentibus iungit, ubi etiam LXX copulam legebant; prioribus iunctae claudicant, neque praefixam habent praepositionem 2, uti alia praecedentis enumerationis membra —
7:22
v. 22 « et cuncta , in quibus spiraculum vitae est in terra », — Hebr. in arida (cf. Ex. 1^, 91), quo evidentius excluduntur pisces — « mortua sunt ». v. 93 « Et delevit » Deus « omnem substantiam , quae erat super terram » (cf. v. &), « ab homzne usque ad pecus, tam reptile quam volucres coeli, et deleta sunt de terra, remansit autem solus Noe, et qui cum eo erant in arca ».
7:24
v. 9 | « Obtinueruntque aquae terram centum quinquaginta diebus ». Idem verbum quod v. 19 vertebatur praevaluerunt. Ceterum cf. quae dicebamus p. 22 sq. Árg. — Decrementi causas indicat v. 1 sq. , cohibitas coeli et abyssi aquas et ventum siccantem emissum , imprimis vero Dei miserentis voluntatem. Quibus e/fectum est, ut recedentibus aquis arca subsisteret. Cap.. VIII
7:1
It had elements not customary in a ship: a door in the side (Gen. 6:16 b; for its use cf. Gen. 6:18; 7:1, 7; 8:18), which God closed before sending the waters (Gen. 7:16), the roof or cover (cf. Gen. 8:13) to protect from the water. …
7:2
… But more than true contradictions, these are ways of speaking that complete one another: it is said in general that the animals must be brought in by pairs (Gen. 6, 19), and then the number is indicated (ibid., 7, 2); the entry into the ark cannot be said to be narrated twice merely because 7, 13 takes up 7, 7 again; 7, 12 speaks of the increase of the waters for 40 days, and 7, 24 says that they …
7:4
… Methuselah according to the Masoretic text and the Samaritan died during the flood (in 1656 according to the Masoretic, in 1307 according to the Samaritan and in 2262 according to the Septuagint), and Lamech would have died 5 years after the flood, against Gen. 6:17; 7:4, 21-24; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5 (see Table b).
7:6
Noe (Heb. Nōah; Septuagint Nōe; cf. Old Babylonian Nuḫīja)
… Nōah; Septuagint Nōe; cf. Old Babylonian Nuḫīja). - The tenth of the "antediluvian patriarchs" (Gen. 5:28-31), son of Lamech, who lived to the age of 950 years (ibid. 9:29). In anticipation of the flood (v.), which occurred when he was 600 years old (ibid. 7:6), he received from God the order to build according to definite measurements and appearance the ark, in which he saved himself with his family and one or more pairs of every species of animal.
… Shem, when the flood ended, must have been 101 years old (Gen. 5:31; 7:6). Instead, according to Gen. 11:10, two years after the flood he was only 100 years old. Another fact that impresses is the late age at which the biblical P. have their successor (cf. …
7:11
… rĕphā'îm (Ps. 88:11). Above, the solid celestial vault ("firmamentum") has the task of dividing the upper waters from the lower (Gen. 1:6 ff.) and holding these back in their reservoirs (Job 38:22). When God wishes to send rain he opens the floodgates (Gen. 7:11; 8:2) and lets the waters flow. …
… From this it came to be used for a dam, a barrier made to produce a waterfall, as in Gen. 7:11: cataractae caeli apertae sunt (for the flood). …
24, 37-39), was the work of divine omnipotence, which made use of natural causes: the waters coming from the marine abysses and violent cloudbursts (Gen. 7, 11 ff.). …
7:15
… The communication of life by means of the divine breath is common to man and beast (cf. Ps. 104 [103], 29 f.); therefore one also speaks of the rūah of beasts (Gen. 6, 17; 7, 15); thus Eccles. 3, 19: "there is but one breath — rūah — for all". …
7:16
It had elements not customary in a ship: a door in the side (Gen. 6:16 b; for its use cf. Gen. 6:18; 7:1, 7; 8:18), which God closed before sending the waters (Gen. 7:16), the roof or cover (cf. Gen. 8:13) to protect from the water. …
7:19
… And thus "all the highest mountains" (Gen. 7, 19) are all the mountains of that region known to the author.
7:23
The water rose fifteen cubits (about 7.50 m) above the highest mountains, and "thus every being that was on the face of the earth was annihilated; both man and cattle... disappeared from the earth: only Noah remained, and those who were with him in the ark" (Gen. 7:23). For 40 days and 40 nights the rains and the surging waters beat down upon the earth; the waters went on rising and then remained stationary for 110 days; then they began to decrease …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.