by jimwalton » Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:32 pm
"Noah’s drunkenness.” There’s every reason to think it’s the same as the “drunk” we mean today. Gen. 9.20 says he planted a vineyard, which means grapes. Then the text says he drank some of its wine (v. 21) and became drunk. We also know that beer has been around for a long, long time. Even the ancient Israelites drank beer, and lots of it. There’s no reason for us to think anything other than that Noah drank too much grape wine and got drunk. Later in Israelite history we know they often cut their wine with water so that it wasn’t as strong, but one could still get drunk off it if he or she drank enough. We don’t know the strength of Noah’s wine, but we can assume his drunkenness is no different than what we experience today.
“The flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights.” Gen. 7.17 says for 40 days the rains flood kept coming, both rain from above and springs under the earth erupting to add to the amount of water (Gen. 7.11). But then Gn. 7.24 says that the water remained on the earth for 150 days, which would be about 5 more months. But then the water receded (Gn. 8.14). If we put all the information together (40 days + 150 days + more), we can figure out that Noah and family were in the ark for about 12 months and 11 days (the exact number of days depends on whether we’re counting by solar or lunar months).
"Noah’s drunkenness.” There’s every reason to think it’s the same as the “drunk” we mean today. Gen. 9.20 says he planted a vineyard, which means grapes. Then the text says he drank some of its wine (v. 21) and became drunk. We also know that beer has been around for a long, long time. Even the ancient Israelites drank beer, and lots of it. There’s no reason for us to think anything other than that Noah drank too much grape wine and got drunk. Later in Israelite history we know they often cut their wine with water so that it wasn’t as strong, but one could still get drunk off it if he or she drank enough. We don’t know the strength of Noah’s wine, but we can assume his drunkenness is no different than what we experience today.
“The flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights.” Gen. 7.17 says for 40 days the rains flood kept coming, both rain from above and springs under the earth erupting to add to the amount of water (Gen. 7.11). But then Gn. 7.24 says that the water remained on the earth for 150 days, which would be about 5 more months. But then the water receded (Gn. 8.14). If we put all the information together (40 days + 150 days + more), we can figure out that Noah and family were in the ark for about 12 months and 11 days (the exact number of days depends on whether we’re counting by solar or lunar months).