Making Sense of the Flood Narrative

Genesis 7:11-12 “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. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”
In describing the bringing of the rain (the onset of the Great Flood), the author mentions the “fountains of the great deep” and the “windows of heaven.” At first, this appears to be just a colorful way of describing the rainclouds or maybe subterranean springs opening up from the earth. But a closer examination reveals that this is not the case. Throughout the whole canon of Scripture, these terms are always used figuratively, so it is clear that they are not just names for physical objects. It is important to remember this, as there are many who hold to the idea that the ancient Israelites really did believe that the “vault of the heavens” actually was a physical barrier between the sky and the abode of God, which had windows in it so that God could tip the rain in. I would contend that the use of a figurative “firmament” in Genesis One does not necessitate the belief that such a thing was a tangible reality. Ancient people were not idiots. They knew that rain comes from clouds and that if you climb a mountain you are not going to bang your head on an invisible ceiling. And given that a passage in the book of Job actually does describe the hydrological cycle accurately, it would appear conclusive that ancient people did not really think that rain was the result of God opening a window in the ceiling of the “cosmic snow globe” to add more water:
Job 36:27-28: “For he [God] maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.”
So how are we to understand this language of “fountains and windows”? I would contend that it is much the same as when you say to me, “The man upstairs was looking out for me.” Now, you and I both know that when you use that expression, “the man upstairs” is not real. God is real, and we both know that you are referring to God, but there is no man, and there are no stairs. Because I know this expression and what it means, I don’t actually believe that there are stairs somewhere, and at the top of those stairs, I should find a man who is looking out for me. What you and I both believe, and what is intended to be communicated, is that there is a personal being, capable of observing and protecting us, who dwells in an inaccessible realm that we cannot reach. That Person is God, and He is understood to dwell in Heaven. Thus, He is “the man upstairs,” the object behind this phrase.
Similarly, when I say, “That guy’s a few sausages short of a barbecue,” I don’t mean that he is a grill or that his food is missing. If you know this expression, you know that the person in question could be compared to a grill that is missing the most important part – the meat that goes on top! In other words, that person is operating with a deficiency of brains, or intelligence.
That’s how we use idioms in our language. Idiom is a way you might describe an abstract or immaterial thing. These nouns (“fountains” and “windows”) work together with the cosmological terms (“the great deep” and “heaven”) to illustrate something spiritual. Thus, the physical rainfall has a purpose in the spiritual realms. Ancient people made no distinction between the physical and the spiritual.
As in all Biblical texts, the main thrust is always concerned with function. Therefore, the verbs are critical to our understanding of this peculiar passage. The fountains of the great deep were “broken up” (Hebrew baqa` baqa`) and the windows of heaven were “opened” (Hebrew pathach). Literally, the fountains of the great deep were divided or forcefully split apart, and the windows of heaven were moved so as to create an opening. Remember that we are looking at a spiritual phenomenon here. Jesus used this idea when He welcomed Nathanael as His disciple:
John 1:51 (NIV) “He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Jesus, like the OT writers, associated the opening of heaven with the ascent and descent of spiritual entities. So now we are closer to understanding what was going on during the Flood and how it served as an act of judgment upon supernatural beings. The Flood separated the spirits of the Nephilim from their mortal bodies, preserving them for a future purpose that Scripture would reveal later. The bodies of the giants were lost forever to the waters of primordial chaos.
- Adapted from an excerpt of “Answers to Giant Questions,” chapter 5: “The Flood Vs. The Immortals,” by T.J. Steadman.