How were the mountains covered in Genesis chapter 7:20 when the water rose 15 cubits, and that’s approximately 21.88 feet, but there are mountains that are hundreds of feet tall?
Genesis 7:20
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Asked October 02 2023
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Darrell Parsley
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Mark Vestal
Genesis 7:20 KJV "Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered." I take this to state that the waters prevailed 15 cubits upward...above the highest mountain. As you imply, it really wouldn't make sense otherwise.
ainsley chalmers
The world pre-flood, called Pangaea, was flatter and vastly different to the present world. The geologic features we see now were caused post-flood, due to massive tectonic plate movement, widespread earthquakes, volcanic activity and gigantic sedimentation. These events caused the geomorphology we see today.
Leslie Coutinho
Genesis 7:17: 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. The ark was lifted above the earth and the ark went upon the face of the waters, as the water prevailed fifteen cubits above the high hills and the whole earth was covered with water. (Gen 7:17-20) It's amazing the water of the flood that came upon the earth first as “the foundations of the great deep broke open,” first from the earth and then the windows of heaven were opened, and then it rained for forty days and forty nights. (Gen 7:11-12) When the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped the waters returned to the great deep of the earth and all the mountains were seen and the ark rested on top of the high mountains. (Gen 8:3-5) Isaiah 51:10: Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depth of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
Jack Gutknecht
Good question, Darrell! At Arizona Bible College in Phoenix, Arizona, we studied and even debated whether Noah's Flood was a worldwide flood or just a local flood. I took the side that it was a worldwide flood. To do this I studied Dr. John Whitcomb's book about the worldwide flood, called The Genesis Flood. He said, "You do need not be a professional scientist to realize the tremendous implications of these biblical statements. If the highest mountains were covered with water, the Flood would have been global in geographical extent, for water must seek its own level—and it must do so quickly! "The phrase 'fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail' does not mean that the Flood was only 15 cubits deep, for the phrase is qualified by the one which immediately follows: 'and the mountains were covered.'” You can still hear Dr. John C. Whitcomb preach on Sunday morning radio, last I checked. After I graduated and took a church, we showed the movie "The Day the World Perished," to a packed church, and had to bring in extra chairs.
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