Noah Before and After the Great Flood
Copyright 2019 by Joan Berry
To more fully understand the story of Noah, it is pertinent to view the lineage and his connection to Enoch, his great-grandfather. Enoch ruled over the City of Enoch that was founded by Cainin. Enoch was also a prophet of God, scribe, and the seventh generation from Adam. Enoch recorded that God sent angels and Watchers to ensure safety and as helpers for His people. The account of the angels and Watchers is presented in a separate paper available at this site.
Adam created ca. 3815 BCE
Seth born 3685 BCE
Enos born 3580 BCE
Cainan [Cainin] born 3490 BCE
Mahalaleel born 3420 BCE
Jared born 3355 BCE
Enoch born 3193 BCE
Methuselah born 3128 BCE [lived 969 years]
Lamech born 2941 BCE
Noah born 2759 BCE
Prior to the flood, people had long life spans as recorded in Genesis 5. Days were from sunup to sundown. A year was measured as Earth’s rotation around the sun just as it does today. Adam lived 930 years and Noah was born ten generations later; 20 years after Adam died. From Adam to Noah was a span of 1056 years. Noah was 500 years old when God called him to build the huge vessel. Traditionally, there is 369 years between the death of Noah and the birth of Moses. Moses is credited with compiling the Book of Genesis; most of which came from the writings of Enoch.
The Midrash Tanchuma states that before Noah [Noach] was born, God cursed the ground for Adam’s sake: “…with toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life.” When Adam asked God how much longer the curse would last, God responded, “…Until a person is born circumcised” When Lamech saw that his son was born circumcised, he said …”this one will bring about our consolation.” It is assumed that Noah studied the Torah because he knew that he was to take seven kosher animals and birds into the vessel along with non-kosher animals and birds two-by-two [male and female]. The Midrash Tanchuma also states that Noah passed away after the flood and after he saw the world was settled with 70 nations descended from him.
The Birth of Noah
Lamech was not only surprised by his son’s prenatal circumcision but in addition he was born with white skin (white as snow) and red as a rose [newborns often have red areas]; his hair was long and white as wool and his eyes were beautiful and full of light. His fingers were not webbed as well [earlier humans had webbed fingers]. Upon his birth, the child immediately spoke to the Lord. Lamech thought that his son looked like the offspring of angels and thought his wife had been unfaithful. Lamech went to his father, Methuselah, to discuss the matter. Methuselah in turn went to his father, Enoch, to inform him of this unusual event.
In the Book of Enoch sections 106.13-14-16, Enoch tells Methuselah that the child is Lamech’s and he is to name him Noah [connected to the Hebrew word for comfort]. Enoch further tells Methuselah that the Lord would do new things on Earth and that he had seen those things in a vision and those that he, Enoch, had revealed to him [Methuselah]. Enoch also tells his son that Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives would be saved from the coming of the Great Flood.
The Torah and the Bible say that God walked with Noah and when Noah was 500 years old, God called him to build the ark. The Book of Noah relates that God further tells him that the angels were in the process of building the wooden structure and when it was finished, He [God] would put His hand on it and keep it safe. He would also make a change so no dry land would remain empty.
Immediately before the departure of Noah and his family to board the ark, Noah relates to Lamech that the Earth is shaken and has tilted and hot springs are running cold. Professor Charles Hapgood determined that the North Pole shifted from the area of Hudson Bay [an inland seaindenting east-central Canada] to its present position. He posits that when the poles shifted a huge ice melt occurred and supported the Great Flood. Hapgood is known for his works on crustal shifts. Albert Einstein corresponded with Hapgood about pole shifts, supported the theory, helped with the study, and wrote the foreword to Earth’s Shifting Crust.”
“Just because the Earth is massive, this does not mean it cannot flip very quickly. The Earth is spinning, like a top, and in a zero g, and zero friction environment, it doesn’t take much more than a gradual buildup of an opposed magnetic field, to change that top from positive stability to negative stability, until eventually, some minor perturbation triggers the rapid switch, whereby the top wobbles, and then inverts, resuming positive stability, even whilst it retains its angular momentum. A little force is all it takes to persuade a spinning top that it is better spinning the other way up. Every 12,000 years the polarity of the ambient magnetic field (about the Earth) inverts.”
White, Black, and Red Skin
Consensus among many anthropologists is that all early mankind had black skin [shades of brown were included in this category]. White skin was unusual and sometimes considered to be albino. Noah was not an albino. Red skin came as a combination of the colors. Due to intermarriages, they posit, skins began changing to various colors as well as eye color. Biblical scholars/anthropologists in tracing the genealogy of biblical families report that Abraham was black and had two black wives and then Sarah who was white. Moses married a black woman in Cush [Ethiopia/political]; Joseph married an Egyptian; sons of Jacob married Canaanite women of various colors. From these intermarriages, scholars/anthropologists say that we now have many skin and eye colors. Jesus is described as having skin the color of burnished brass [Revelation, Letter to Thyatira].
Also Prior to the Great Flood
Sacrifices were made to God before the Great Flood and this rite was continued by Noah following the flood. Some of the occupations included farming (Cain); shepherds (Abel); musicians (Jubal); metal works (Tubal-cain); they ate and drank and married. There was one city known (City of Enoch founded by Cain) but there may have been more. In Genesis 6, Nephilim are mentioned and described as being mighty men who were old men of renown. A very good description of these people can be found in the Book of Enoch. There are also mentioned angels fallen angels, Watchers, and human-angel hybrids. Wickedness and violence within humanity began early such as Cain killing Abel, Lamech also killed. Noah was the exception because he walked with God.
The Flood
For 40 days, the flood was upon the Earth; the water rose 15 cubits above the highest mountain. The water covered the Earth for 150 days and then the rain ceased and the springs of the deep closed and the water began to recede. In the seventh month on the seventeenth day, the ark came to rest atop Mount Ararat. The water continued to ebb away until the first day of the tenth month when mountain peaks could be seen. Forty days later, Noah opened the window and sent out a raven that did not return. [Ravens eat carrion and no doubt found much of it in the water]. He then sent out a dove, but it found no perch and returned. Noah waited another seven days and sent the dove out again. The dove returned, but this time it had an olive tree twig in its beak. After another seven days, the dove once again was sent out, but it did not return this time. In Noah’s 601 year, on the first day of the first month, the water had receded from the Earth. By the27th day of the second month, the Earth had dried up. The event had lasted 364 days. Noah then built an altar and offered up burnt offerings to God and God was well pleased.
After the Flood
God placed all of Earth’s creatures in the care of Noah and his sons. And then God made a covenant with Noah to never destroy the Earth with water again. He set a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant and now a reembrace for us.
After the flood, God told Noah and his family to venture out to repopulate the world. Noah and his wife settled near where the ark landed on the Mount of Ararat. He lived 350 years after the flood.
Shem lived 600 years and inherited the Promised Land displacing the descendants of Ham. Shem had five sons and he is the ancestor of all Semites. Twenty-six nations were formed by his descendants.
Japheth inherited the coastal lands around the Mediterranean Sea as well as the islands. He had seven sons who established 14 nations. He and Shem lived in harmony with each other. Japheth’s descendants lived to the north and west of Israel and their language was considered Indo-European.
Ham occupied what today are northern Iraq, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya. He had four sons and whose descendants founded 30 nations. Ham’s son, Canaan, was cursed for his error with Noah, but the curse landed on Ham as well.
Source
Black History in the Bible (2016). Biblical and Historical Evidence of Black Hebrews).
The Real Book of Enoch resurfaced at the beginning of the 17th century when it was discovered in Ethiopia, written in an Ethiopic language. In fact, the book of Enoch is preserved in its entirety in the Church at Ethiopia, and is included in their Bible. The Ethiopians claim it was divine scripture. [Written before the Great Flood].– [http://scriptural-truth.com/stuff/BookOfEnoch.pdf ].
The term “Book of Jasher” is a bit misleading. This was not a book written by someone named “Jasher”. In fact the word “Jasher” (Hebrew: Yashar) means “Upright” so that the Hebrew Sefer HaYashar is “The Upright Book”. The definite article “Ha” tips us off that this is not a person’s name but a modifier for the word “book”.
Book of Methuselah: One of the books attached to of the Book of Enoch. [Written before the Great Flood].
Book of Noah: One of the books attached to the Book of Enoch. [Written before the Great Flood].
Eisenstein, A. and Hapgood, C. (2006). The Einstein and Hapgood Papers, Crustal Shift/Physics Forums.
Kabbala/Zohar: Kabbalah is the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, first transmitted orally and using esoteric methods (including ciphers). It reached the height of its influence in the later Middle Ages and remains significant in Hasidism. The Zohar (Hebrew: זֹהַר, lit.”Splendor” or “Radiance”) is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology.
Kranz, Jeffrey (2013). What was it like before Noah’s flood? In Bible Facts.
Midrash Tanchuma The genre of Jewish literature known as Midrash has been poetically described as “the hammer that awakens the slumbering sparks on the anvil of the Bible.” The Midrashic process utilizes a variety of methods, including expositions, explanations, gematria, plays on words, legends, and parables, to broaden our understanding of the full meaning of the biblical text.
New King James Version Study Bible (2nd ed). (2007). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[Genesis, Ezekiel, Isiah, I Chronicles, Matthew, Luke, Hebrews, I and II Peter]
Torah: (Judaism) the scroll of parchment on which the first five books of the Hebrew Scripture is written; is used in a synagogue during services. Judaism – the monotheistic religion of the Jews having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud.
Yalkut Shimoni: The Yalkut Shimoni (Hebrew ילקוט שמעוני), or simply Yalkut, is an aggadic compilation on the books of the Hebrew Bible. It is a compilation of older interpretations and explanations of Biblical passages, arranged according to the sequence of those portions of the Bible to which they referred.