QUESTION: (From South Africa) We always read and understand that the flood was world wide. They always quote Genesis 7:21-23 and Chapter 10:32 where it talks about the earth being divided after the flood according to their nations. These are the families after their generations, sons of Noah, in their nations. And by these were the nations of the earth divided.
ANSWER: The concept that the flood covered the whole earth is an ecclesiastic concept. But basically the ‘flood’ of Noah’s time did not comer the whole earth. The word in Hebrew for earth is Eretz which means that place or all that country. So this was the area of the country where Noah and his family were ordered to build the Ark. Of course they were the last and purest strain of the Adamic Race left in that area, at that time, in the Upper Tarim Basin which was north of Turkestan at that time. (In the high Himalaya Mountains). This area of that country shows the effects of that flood to this day. It is a great upper valley several hundred miles long, but there was also an underground sea under that area. The great pillar of rock which held up the surface was broken by a great earthquake and the land fell into the water. But you can see some of these pillars of rock still standing today, and see how they collapsed. At the same time water fell from above, and all in all, this basin filled up and the foundations of the deep were thus uncovered at the same time and the Ark floated. But this is the place where the flood of Noah’s time occurred, and the water rose up to the high mountains of that area. Ararat means high mountain. Thus the mountain of this basin had water up to the rim of the basin. And then another great earthquake came at both ends of the basin and cracked it open and the water ran out. One end of the water ran down into China, because this was the dividing line of the drainage of the earth. Water went down through the Wang Ho river of China. And at the other end it went to the west. Then finally down through the area where lay the City of Ur of the Chaldea. And then emptied into the sea. When the earthquake came, one can see where the water poured out through this rift, and out of this great fault and then descended into these two areas.