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Genesis 7:11

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

EOB Footnote:

The MT specifies “in the second month” whereas the LXX reads simply “the second month” without the preposition, a minor difference in construction. The MT phrase “on this day” is rendered more emphatically than the LXX “in that day.” The MT “fountains of the great deep” corresponds to the LXX “fountains of the abyss,” where “great deep” and “abyss” represent the same cosmic waters but with slightly different terminology. The MT “windows of heaven” matches the LXX “cataracts of heaven,” where “cataracts” renders a Greek word meaning floodgates or sluices rather than the literal “windows” of the Hebrew. A meaning-based rendering was chosen for the Greek term typically translated “cataracts,” using “floodgates” to convey the sense of openings through which water pours down.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

WEB (World English Bible):

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the abyss were broken up, and the flood-gates of heaven were opened.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

In 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 flood-gates of heaven were opened.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the springs of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of the heavens were opened.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the springs of the great deep came bursting through, and the windows of heaven were open.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Genesis 7:11 Commentary

The Breaking of the Deep and the Opening of Heaven

This verse marks the precise moment when divine judgment descends upon the corrupted world, describing the catastrophe through two complementary images: the fountains of the great deep bursting forth and the windows of heaven opening. The Fathers understood this dual action as a reversal of the creative ordering described in Genesis 1, where God separated the waters above from the waters below. Sin had so thoroughly corrupted creation that a kind of de-creation became necessary before renewal could occur.

Typological Significance for Baptism

The Orthodox Church reads this passage through the lens of baptismal theology. Saint Peter explicitly connects the Flood waters to baptism in his first epistle, and the Fathers developed this connection extensively. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem taught that just as the world was cleansed through water and given a new beginning, so the catechumen dies to the old life and rises to newness through the baptismal font. The waters that brought death to the sinful world simultaneously bore the ark of salvation, prefiguring how the same baptismal waters that drown the old Adam raise up the new creation in Christ.

Christological Reading

The ark itself becomes a type of Christ and His Church. Saint John Chrysostom observed that just as Noah and his family found salvation only within the ark while judgment raged outside, so humanity finds refuge from spiritual death only within Christ and His Body, the Church. The specific dating in this verse, the seventeenth day of the second month, was noted by some Fathers as providentially significant, though interpretations varied.

Liturgical Connections

The Great Blessing of Waters at Theophany recalls this primordial event. The prayers speak of water as both an instrument of judgment and a means of sanctification. When the priest breathes upon the waters and invokes the Holy Spirit, the Church understands this as a restoration and completion of what the Flood began, the ultimate purification of creation through Christ’s baptism in the Jordan.

The opening of heaven’s windows also prefigures the opening of heaven at Christ’s baptism, when the Spirit descended and the Father’s voice was heard. What opened for destruction in Noah’s time opens for blessing and revelation in the fullness of time.

Spiritual Application

For the Orthodox Christian, this verse reminds us that God’s patience, though immense, is not infinite regarding unrepentant sin. Yet even in judgment, mercy is present, for the same waters that destroy also carry the means of salvation. This paradox stands at the heart of Orthodox spirituality: through death comes life, through the Cross comes resurrection, through the terrifying waters comes cleansing and renewal.

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