Would salt water sharks survive in a very much diluted ocean for the duration of The Flood ?
And where did the water go to ?
I'm sure I don't have to say this but I'm going to anyway...probably best not to take the story as factually accurate.
Really ! I'm shocked.
Are there any other parts that may not be strictly accurate ?
Things are getting bad when you can't even believe the Old Testament.
Yet here you are, asking where did the water go, how did the ark end up on Mt Arafat, & so on & so forth. You're expecting sensible debate on these?
If we assume that the Flood story is actually based on a very serious flood in the region (possibly caused by a massive earthquake similar to the one that is supposed to be the cause of cities being submerged) there is still the question of how did the ark end up on the top of Mount Ararat. ...
Genesis 7:17And 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.
Genesis 8:5And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
At face value this suggests the ark came to rest on / around the mountains of Ararat circa 2.5 months before the tops of any mountains were visible. ???? ...
Finkel (in the video posted above) mentions that the true translation was 'among the mountains of Ararat' - which could mean a resting place in a valley somewhere, rather than on top of Mount Ararat.The Bible doesn't claim the ark ended up atop Mount Ararat. Genesis 8:4 simply states the ark came to rest on or around the "mountains of Ararat." "Ararat" (aka "Urartu") was the historical name of the region where Mount Ararat lies.
The specific claim that the ark landed on top of that particular mountain only dates back to around the 11th century CE.
In any case ... Even though Genesis states the hills and mountains were covered Genesis 7:20 says that the waters prevailed on the lands to the extent of 15 cubits. That's only approximately 22.5 feet. The scriptures aren't clear whether this 15 cubits represents the flood's depth from original ground level versus the extent to which it rose higher than the highest point of land.
Speaking of the flood's timeline ...
Genesis states the rain lasted 40 days and 40 nights, as we've always heard:
Genesis 7:17
However, Genesis 7:24 states "And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days."
Genesis states the ark came to rest at "the mountains of Ararat" exactly 5 months after the rain / flood started (2nd month / 17th day until 7th month / 17th day).
Then, confusingly:
Genesis 8:5
At face value this suggests the ark came to rest on / around the mountains of Ararat circa 2.5 months before the tops of any mountains were visible. ???? ...
I don't recall any mention of the situation immediately after the flood.
The whole world being littered with the rotting corpse of every person and animal that wasn't on the ark.
One would think it would at least get a mention.
INT21.