Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ship which he had made, and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth.”
(Genesis 8:6-7)

I believe this was about a year after the flood began, but it could have been only about nine months. It depends on how you read the days listed. Here is my reading: it rained for forty days and night, then the waters rose for 150 days, then they receded 150 days – and the bottom of the ark came to a rest on the 7th month -, then they continued to recede and in the 10th month (up to 90 days later) the tops of the mountains were visible, and then after another 40 days, Noah opened the window of the ship. That’s 40 + 150 + 150 + 90 + 40 = 470. That’s a year and a couple of months. Other people roll the 40 days of rain into the first 150 of the waters rising and then they roll the 40 days Noah waited into the second 150 of the waters receding. That makes the total time from the beginning of the Flood about 9-10 months. Based on the language, I think my numbers are correct BUT these are not important details. The Flood lasted a LONG time and God was with them throughout. THAT is what is important.

Ravens are able to consume carrion. They aren’t picky. There were plenty of bodies of animals, birds, and humans to feast on. The smell must have been horrific. Also, the tops of the mountains were visible and every day brought more and more land into view. The carrion eater would fly, feast, and roost on safe ground every day and night until everything returned to ‘normal’. After all, there weren’t any predators left to bother it. For a few months, this raven was the king of the world.

The sage Rashi writes: ‘מקץ ארבעים יום AT THE END OF FORTY DAYS from when the tops of the mountains were seen. את חלון התבה אשר עשה THE WINDOW OF THE ARK WHICH HE HAD MADE — for the light; it does not mean the door of the Ark intended for entry and exit.

The sage Radak writes: ‘ויהי מקץ ארבעים יום, these words refer to the end of forty days after the waters had begun to recede; personally, I feel that the period described dates back to the day when the ark had come to rest on Mount Ararat. How else would Noach have been able to determine that the waters had begun to recede, seeing that all around him there was only water? Once the ark had come to rest on Mount Ararat Noach could measure how much more of the mountain was becoming visible beneath the ark. Noach knew that the ark had come to rest on something solid. He then waited another 40 days to give the waters a chance to recede still further, before he saw any point in sending out a bird (raven) to determine if that bird could locate a tree which was exposed above the water. את חלון התבה, the window of the ark which he had made before departure. The window described here as חלון is identical with what had been described by G’d as צוהר in 6,16. He sent the raven out from this widow. We may legitimately ask that if Noach knew the day on which the rains had stopped as we stated earlier, why did he not open the window of the ark immediately, seeing that no more rain was falling? We may answer that Noach was still worried that the turbulent waves surrounding the ark would come crashing through such an open window. This is why he waited another 40 days until such waves were much below the lower decks of the ark and posed no threat.’