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Genesis 7:17

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

The flood lasted for forty days on the earth. The waters kept rising and lifted the ark, and it floated high above the ground.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes “forty days” specifying the duration of the flood upon the earth, which some LXX manuscripts also reflect but with variation in placement. The MT reads “the flood was forty days upon the earth” whereas the LXX base text has simply “the flood came” or “the flood was” without the explicit forty-day duration in this clause, though the number appears in the following description of the waters increasing. Some LXX witnesses harmonize with the MT by including the forty days reference.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

WEB (World English Bible):

The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And the flood was upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and the water abounded greatly and bore up the ark, and it was lifted on high from off the earth.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the earth.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

The flood was on the earth for forty days. The waters increased and lifted the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

And the flood was forty days on the earth, and the waters increased and lifted the ark, and it was raised up from the earth.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

For forty days the waters were over all the earth; and the waters were increased so that the ark was lifted up high over the earth.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Genesis 7:17 Commentary

The Flood as Forty Days of Judgment and Renewal

The specification of forty days during which the flood prevailed upon the earth carries profound typological significance that resonates throughout Scripture and Orthodox spiritual life. This number appears repeatedly in salvation history as a period of testing, purification, and divine encounter: Moses on Sinai, Elijah’s journey to Horeb, Israel’s wilderness wandering, and most significantly, our Lord’s temptation in the desert.

Christological and Baptismal Significance

The Church Fathers consistently interpreted the flood waters as a type of baptism. Saint Peter himself establishes this connection explicitly, stating that baptism corresponds to the waters through which Noah was saved (1 Peter 3:20-21). The forty days of the flood’s prevalence thus prefigure the catechumenate and the intensive period of preparation before illumination. Just as the waters simultaneously destroyed the old corrupt world and bore up the ark of salvation, so baptismal waters effect both the death of the old man and the birth of the new creation in Christ.

Saint Ambrose of Milan elaborates that the ark floating upon the waters represents the Church, which alone provides salvation amid the flood of worldly corruption. The wood of the ark prefigures the wood of the Cross, by which believers are carried safely through the waters of death into resurrection life.

Liturgical Connections

The Orthodox Church commemorates this typology in the blessing of waters at Theophany, where the prayers recall how God used water both for judgment and salvation. The forty-day period also finds liturgical expression in Great Lent, the forty-day fast preparing the faithful for Pascha. Just as the flood cleansed the earth for a renewed creation, the Lenten fast purifies the soul for participation in the Resurrection.

The hymnography of the Church frequently employs flood imagery when speaking of repentance. The Triodion contains numerous references to being overwhelmed by the flood of passions, with the ark representing the refuge found in Christ and His Church.

Spiritual Application

For Orthodox spirituality, this verse reminds us that divine judgment, though severe, serves a purifying purpose. The prevalence of waters for forty days suggests that transformation requires sustained divine action and patient endurance. The spiritual life is not instantaneous but unfolds through prolonged periods of testing during which God accomplishes His saving work. As the waters lifted the ark higher above the corrupted earth, so trials and tribulations, when received with faith, elevate the soul toward heaven.

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