I have spent 2 blogs evaluating how accurately Aronofsky portrays the historical context and biblical message of Noah's flood. I've been tough on him. His film locations don't reflect the geography of Mesopotamia. His environmental warning about climate change doesn't put the biblical critique of human violence front and center with a statement about God's faithfulness. That being said, he chose the perfect subtitle: "the end of the world... is just the beginning."
In one scene pre-released from the film, Noah is asked during the flood: "Is this the end of everything?" Noah's reply, "No, the beginning... the beginning of everything." That simple exchange captures a dominant theme in Genesis 7-8. The flood's destruction restarts creation.
Days and Dates Matter
The specific dates of the flood are meant to deliver a theological message more so than satisfy your chronological curiosity. For example, the flood begins on the 17th day of the 2nd month. That date is significant on 2 accounts. First, the 2nd Century BC Book of Jubilees reports Adam entering the garden God created for him 47 days after God created everything (Jubilees 3:9). If you put the first day of creation on the first day of the first 30-day month of the first lunar calendar year, the flood begins the same day of the year Adam entered the garden. What is the significance? The flood is a direct reversal of the good world God created for Adam. It is not time to enjoy the garden but to tear it down and start again.
To add to the significance of this date, our best analysis of the ancient Jewish lunar calendar (which could have been 360 or 364 days) suggests the announcement and initiation of the flood happen on Sunday. In fact, the Dead Sea Scroll Commentary on Genesis A (4Q252) explicitly states the flood started "in the second month, on day one of the week, on the seventeenth." The Qumran Genesis commentary actually obsesses over events occurring on Sunday--"day one of the week." The window of the ark is opened, the doves are sent out and Noah disembarks to the dry land all on the first day of a new week.
Although some of the days of the flood story in the Hebrew masoretic text are difficult to pinpoint because of an uncertain 360 or 364 day year, the most important days fall on a Sunday. The flood begins the same day God started his first creation in Genesis 1. With a 360-day calendar, Noah actually re-enters the new creation on Sunday as well. If these specific dates are preserved in the flood story to enhance its theological significance, then the message is clear. God is wiping out many of the living things he created. He is undoing the order he established out of the chaos of uncontrolled waters. He is restarting creation with one outstanding family and a boatful of animals.
NOTE: See Gordon Wenham's reconstructed chronology of the flood below, based on the dates in the Hebrew masoretic text of Genesis and a 364-day calendar. A 360-day lunar calendar puts the final 2 events on Sunday.
The specific dates of the flood are meant to deliver a theological message more so than satisfy your chronological curiosity. For example, the flood begins on the 17th day of the 2nd month. That date is significant on 2 accounts. First, the 2nd Century BC Book of Jubilees reports Adam entering the garden God created for him 47 days after God created everything (Jubilees 3:9). If you put the first day of creation on the first day of the first 30-day month of the first lunar calendar year, the flood begins the same day of the year Adam entered the garden. What is the significance? The flood is a direct reversal of the good world God created for Adam. It is not time to enjoy the garden but to tear it down and start again.
To add to the significance of this date, our best analysis of the ancient Jewish lunar calendar (which could have been 360 or 364 days) suggests the announcement and initiation of the flood happen on Sunday. In fact, the Dead Sea Scroll Commentary on Genesis A (4Q252) explicitly states the flood started "in the second month, on day one of the week, on the seventeenth." The Qumran Genesis commentary actually obsesses over events occurring on Sunday--"day one of the week." The window of the ark is opened, the doves are sent out and Noah disembarks to the dry land all on the first day of a new week.
Although some of the days of the flood story in the Hebrew masoretic text are difficult to pinpoint because of an uncertain 360 or 364 day year, the most important days fall on a Sunday. The flood begins the same day God started his first creation in Genesis 1. With a 360-day calendar, Noah actually re-enters the new creation on Sunday as well. If these specific dates are preserved in the flood story to enhance its theological significance, then the message is clear. God is wiping out many of the living things he created. He is undoing the order he established out of the chaos of uncontrolled waters. He is restarting creation with one outstanding family and a boatful of animals.
NOTE: See Gordon Wenham's reconstructed chronology of the flood below, based on the dates in the Hebrew masoretic text of Genesis and a 364-day calendar. A 360-day lunar calendar puts the final 2 events on Sunday.
The New Creation of Genesis 8
The Sundays the flood was announced, began, and ended connect it to the first creation and Adam's entry into the garden. But that doesn't come close to identifying all the links between the flood and the first creation. As the flood recedes, Genesis 8 actually recounts the re-establishment of the created order laid out in Genesis One. Check out all the parallels.
ACTIVITY: Note the emphasis on specific times in the Genesis 8 word cloud below. Note also how many repeated words are similarly found in Genesis 1.
The Sundays the flood was announced, began, and ended connect it to the first creation and Adam's entry into the garden. But that doesn't come close to identifying all the links between the flood and the first creation. As the flood recedes, Genesis 8 actually recounts the re-establishment of the created order laid out in Genesis One. Check out all the parallels.
- Gen 8:1 parallels day 1 in Gen 1:2 - wind passes over the earth
- Gen 8:2 parallels day 2 in Gen 1:6 - rain stops falling through the raquia, or atmospheric precipitation barrier
- Gen 8:5 parallels day 3 in Gen 1:9 - dry land appears
- Gen 8:6 parallels day 4 in Gen 1:14 - sun shines through the opened window of the ark
- Gen 8:11 parallels day 3 in Gen 1:11-12 - vegetation appears on land
- Gen 8:12 parallels day 5 in Gen 1:20 - birds inhabit the earth again
- Gen 8:18-19 parallels day 6 in Gen 1:24-26 - people and animals inhabit the earth again
ACTIVITY: Note the emphasis on specific times in the Genesis 8 word cloud below. Note also how many repeated words are similarly found in Genesis 1.
The End is The Beginning
The details in the biblical record commend the relevance of Aronofsky's subtitle. The end of the world is just the beginning. God re-worked his first creation. He created a "new day." That is the hope amidst judgment.
I hope the poignant message in the days and dates and in the repeated pattern of Geneisis 1 in Genesis 8 instruct you to read carefully. The details of biblical stories are not included for the same purpose a western journalist collects facts. Tons of different details, dates and turns of phrase could be included. But time and again biblical writers clarify theological messages through narrative details. So analyze everything my friends, lest you make up the wrong meaning or miss the central message. Your careful interpretation is worth it.
The details in the biblical record commend the relevance of Aronofsky's subtitle. The end of the world is just the beginning. God re-worked his first creation. He created a "new day." That is the hope amidst judgment.
I hope the poignant message in the days and dates and in the repeated pattern of Geneisis 1 in Genesis 8 instruct you to read carefully. The details of biblical stories are not included for the same purpose a western journalist collects facts. Tons of different details, dates and turns of phrase could be included. But time and again biblical writers clarify theological messages through narrative details. So analyze everything my friends, lest you make up the wrong meaning or miss the central message. Your careful interpretation is worth it.
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