The Flood of Noah’s Time
The Flood of Noah’s Time
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A question that arises for some is with regard to the Genesis account of the Noachian flood. Some are disturbed by claims that ancient Mesopotamian documents give a chronology that would extend the history of the population of that region much farther back than the allowable amount of time of the Noachian flood which Scripture evidently places in the third or fourth millennium BCE. Others are in doubt due to the question of the extent of that flood, whether or not it was a global flood affecting the entire planet. A major point advanced as indicating otherwise is the fact that certain species of animals, (as one example among several, the kangaroo), are found only in isolated parts of the planet, both as to living creatures and fossils of such creatures found in the earth. Similarly, if a global deluge occurred with vast amounts of water covering the entire planet, it seems difficult to understand how the same rivers described as existing in the region previous to the flood were still there afterward, apparently unaffected. (Genesis 2:10-14.) Perhaps more significant is that the purpose of the flood is shown to have been God’s decision to put a halt to the rampant wickedness proliferating among the human race. That raises the question, what purpose would there be in annihilating all the animals and bird life in the vast unpopulated areas of earth since these creatures had nothing to do with the human wickedness carried on in the region where Noah lived?
We here present some information that may prove helpful on both these issues, and which serves to confirm the historicity and reliability of the Scriptural account.
(As to the evidence of chronology, the following information
is provided through the research of
Carl Olof Jonsson, Göteborg, Sweden, 2001 and is copyrighted by him.)
[Reproduced originally by Commentary Press with the writer’s permission.]
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Are the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt in conflict with the Biblical date of the Flood, i.e., c. 2500 BCE according the Hebrew Masoretic text and c. 3500 BCE according to the Greek Septuagint version (LXX)? (The Septuagint version adds 100 years to the age of certain of the pre-Flood patriarchs at the time of their firstborns, beyond the ages given in the Masoretic text.)
Many seem to believe that the chronologies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are safely fixed, while in fact they are very loosely founded and changeable.
The chronology of ancient Mesopotamia, for example, has been considerably shortened, step by step, as a result of research during the past century, as illustrated in the table below, which shows the gradual lowering of the datings of the reigns of Sargon I and Hammurabi. The chronology of ancient Egypt has been shortened in a similar way during the same period. The following chart illustrates this, the names at the left being those of the more prominent experts in the field of ancient Mesopotamian (Akkadian) history and chronology during successive periods of research in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The problems with the ancient chronologies are far from solved, and it is more than likely that they will be further reduced. One problem is that they are often in conflict with C14 (radioactive Carbon 14) dates.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1:2 (1971) tentatively dates the Early Dynastic (E.D.) period in Mesopotamia to c. 3000-2450 BCE, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to quote what this work has to say about one of the problems with this dating. Chapter XVI, “The Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia,” was written by the famous British archaeologist Max E. L. Mallowan (d. 1978), who explains:
“Unfortunately, this apparently satisfactory estimate for the length of the E.D. period does not agree with recent carbon-14 findings, particularly material from Nippur lately tested, which may require a reduction of third millennium dates by as much as six or seven centuries. We have to face the possibility that if the newly emerging carbon-14 pattern for the third millennium is the right one, we must jettison the whole of the previously accepted basis of Egyptian chronology upon which the Mesopotamian in large part depends. But we should be reluctant to do this without much stronger contrary evidence, for Egyptian calculations based on written evidence can be checked on astronomical grounds with but a small margin of error [this supposed “astronomical” support for the Egyptian chronology is increasingly rejected by modern scholars! – C.O.J.] and, if we accept a low carbon-14 chronology for the E.D. period, we are faced with a big and unexplained hiatus between this and the neolithic, for which the same method has given unexpectedly high dates. Some authorities are therefore for the present inclined to believe that at this end of the third millennium there was some physical disturbance in the solar magnetic field, which may have affected the level of the carbon-14 activity in the carbon exchange reservoir.” (Pages 242-243)
True, this was written back in 1971, well before calibration curves had been worked out and extended back to this early period. But still, archaeologists excavating the early civilizations of the ancient Near East are usually distrustful of carbon-14 dates.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Are the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt in conflict with the Biblical date of the Flood, i.e., c. 2500 BCE according the Hebrew Masoretic text and c. 3500 BCE according to the Greek Septuagint version (LXX)? (The Septuagint version adds 100 years to the age of certain of the pre-Flood patriarchs at the time of their firstborns, beyond the ages given in the Masoretic text.)
Many seem to believe that the chronologies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are safely fixed, while in fact they are very loosely founded and changeable.
The chronology of ancient Mesopotamia, for example, has been considerably shortened, step by step, as a result of research during the past century, as illustrated in the table below, which shows the gradual lowering of the datings of the reigns of Sargon I and Hammurabi. The chronology of ancient Egypt has been shortened in a similar way during the same period. The following chart illustrates this, the names at the left being those of the more prominent experts in the field of ancient Mesopotamian (Akkadian) history and chronology during successive periods of research in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The problems with the ancient chronologies are far from solved, and it is more than likely that they will be further reduced. One problem is that they are often in conflict with C14 (radioactive Carbon 14) dates.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1:2 (1971) tentatively dates the Early Dynastic (E.D.) period in Mesopotamia to c. 3000-2450 BCE, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to quote what this work has to say about one of the problems with this dating. Chapter XVI, “The Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia,” was written by the famous British archaeologist Max E. L. Mallowan (d. 1978), who explains:
“Unfortunately, this apparently satisfactory estimate for the length of the E.D. period does not agree with recent carbon-14 findings, particularly material from Nippur lately tested, which may require a reduction of third millennium dates by as much as six or seven centuries. We have to face the possibility that if the newly emerging carbon-14 pattern for the third millennium is the right one, we must jettison the whole of the previously accepted basis of Egyptian chronology upon which the Mesopotamian in large part depends. But we should be reluctant to do this without much stronger contrary evidence, for Egyptian calculations based on written evidence can be checked on astronomical grounds with but a small margin of error [this supposed “astronomical” support for the Egyptian chronology is increasingly rejected by modern scholars! – C.O.J.] and, if we accept a low carbon-14 chronology for the E.D. period, we are faced with a big and unexplained hiatus between this and the neolithic, for which the same method has given unexpectedly high dates. Some authorities are therefore for the present inclined to believe that at this end of the third millennium there was some physical disturbance in the solar magnetic field, which may have affected the level of the carbon-14 activity in the carbon exchange reservoir.” (Pages 242-243)
True, this was written back in 1971, well before calibration curves had been worked out and extended back to this early period. But still, archaeologists excavating the early civilizations of the ancient Near East are usually distrustful of carbon-14 dates.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Are the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt in conflict with the Biblical date of the Flood, i.e., c. 2500 BCE according the Hebrew Masoretic text and c. 3500 BCE according to the Greek Septuagint version (LXX)? (The Septuagint version adds 100 years to the age of certain of the pre-Flood patriarchs at the time of their firstborns, beyond the ages given in the Masoretic text.)
Many seem to believe that the chronologies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are safely fixed, while in fact they are very loosely founded and changeable.
The chronology of ancient Mesopotamia, for example, has been considerably shortened, step by step, as a result of research during the past century, as illustrated in the table below, which shows the gradual lowering of the datings of the reigns of Sargon I and Hammurabi. The chronology of ancient Egypt has been shortened in a similar way during the same period. The following chart illustrates this, the names at the left being those of the more prominent experts in the field of ancient Mesopotamian (Akkadian) history and chronology during successive periods of research in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The problems with the ancient chronologies are far from solved, and it is more than likely that they will be further reduced. One problem is that they are often in conflict with C14 (radioactive Carbon 14) dates.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1:2 (1971) tentatively dates the Early Dynastic (E.D.) period in Mesopotamia to c. 3000-2450 BCE, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to quote what this work has to say about one of the problems with this dating. Chapter XVI, “The Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia,” was written by the famous British archaeologist Max E. L. Mallowan (d. 1978), who explains:
“Unfortunately, this apparently satisfactory estimate for the length of the E.D. period does not agree with recent carbon-14 findings, particularly material from Nippur lately tested, which may require a reduction of third millennium dates by as much as six or seven centuries. We have to face the possibility that if the newly emerging carbon-14 pattern for the third millennium is the right one, we must jettison the whole of the previously accepted basis of Egyptian chronology upon which the Mesopotamian in large part depends. But we should be reluctant to do this without much stronger contrary evidence, for Egyptian calculations based on written evidence can be checked on astronomical grounds with but a small margin of error [this supposed “astronomical” support for the Egyptian chronology is increasingly rejected by modern scholars! – C.O.J.] and, if we accept a low carbon-14 chronology for the E.D. period, we are faced with a big and unexplained hiatus between this and the neolithic, for which the same method has given unexpectedly high dates. Some authorities are therefore for the present inclined to believe that at this end of the third millennium there was some physical disturbance in the solar magnetic field, which may have affected the level of the carbon-14 activity in the carbon exchange reservoir.” (Pages 242-243)
True, this was written back in 1971, well before calibration curves had been worked out and extended back to this early period. But still, archaeologists excavating the early civilizations of the ancient Near East are usually distrustful of carbon-14 dates.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Are the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt in conflict with the Biblical date of the Flood, i.e., c. 2500 BCE according the Hebrew Masoretic text and c. 3500 BCE according to the Greek Septuagint version (LXX)? (The Septuagint version adds 100 years to the age of certain of the pre-Flood patriarchs at the time of their firstborns, beyond the ages given in the Masoretic text.)
Many seem to believe that the chronologies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are safely fixed, while in fact they are very loosely founded and changeable.
The chronology of ancient Mesopotamia, for example, has been considerably shortened, step by step, as a result of research during the past century, as illustrated in the table below, which shows the gradual lowering of the datings of the reigns of Sargon I and Hammurabi. The chronology of ancient Egypt has been shortened in a similar way during the same period. The following chart illustrates this, the names at the left being those of the more prominent experts in the field of ancient Mesopotamian (Akkadian) history and chronology during successive periods of research in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The problems with the ancient chronologies are far from solved, and it is more than likely that they will be further reduced. One problem is that they are often in conflict with C14 (radioactive Carbon 14) dates.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1:2 (1971) tentatively dates the Early Dynastic (E.D.) period in Mesopotamia to c. 3000-2450 BCE, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to quote what this work has to say about one of the problems with this dating. Chapter XVI, “The Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia,” was written by the famous British archaeologist Max E. L. Mallowan (d. 1978), who explains:
“Unfortunately, this apparently satisfactory estimate for the length of the E.D. period does not agree with recent carbon-14 findings, particularly material from Nippur lately tested, which may require a reduction of third millennium dates by as much as six or seven centuries. We have to face the possibility that if the newly emerging carbon-14 pattern for the third millennium is the right one, we must jettison the whole of the previously accepted basis of Egyptian chronology upon which the Mesopotamian in large part depends. But we should be reluctant to do this without much stronger contrary evidence, for Egyptian calculations based on written evidence can be checked on astronomical grounds with but a small margin of error [this supposed “astronomical” support for the Egyptian chronology is increasingly rejected by modern scholars! – C.O.J.] and, if we accept a low carbon-14 chronology for the E.D. period, we are faced with a big and unexplained hiatus between this and the neolithic, for which the same method has given unexpectedly high dates. Some authorities are therefore for the present inclined to believe that at this end of the third millennium there was some physical disturbance in the solar magnetic field, which may have affected the level of the carbon-14 activity in the carbon exchange reservoir.” (Pages 242-243)
True, this was written back in 1971, well before calibration curves had been worked out and extended back to this early period. But still, archaeologists excavating the early civilizations of the ancient Near East are usually distrustful of carbon-14 dates.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Are the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt in conflict with the Biblical date of the Flood, i.e., c. 2500 BCE according the Hebrew Masoretic text and c. 3500 BCE according to the Greek Septuagint version (LXX)? (The Septuagint version adds 100 years to the age of certain of the pre-Flood patriarchs at the time of their firstborns, beyond the ages given in the Masoretic text.)
Many seem to believe that the chronologies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are safely fixed, while in fact they are very loosely founded and changeable.
The chronology of ancient Mesopotamia, for example, has been considerably shortened, step by step, as a result of research during the past century, as illustrated in the table below, which shows the gradual lowering of the datings of the reigns of Sargon I and Hammurabi. The chronology of ancient Egypt has been shortened in a similar way during the same period. The following chart illustrates this, the names at the left being those of the more prominent experts in the field of ancient Mesopotamian (Akkadian) history and chronology during successive periods of research in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The problems with the ancient chronologies are far from solved, and it is more than likely that they will be further reduced. One problem is that they are often in conflict with C14 (radioactive Carbon 14) dates.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1:2 (1971) tentatively dates the Early Dynastic (E.D.) period in Mesopotamia to c. 3000-2450 BCE, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to quote what this work has to say about one of the problems with this dating. Chapter XVI, “The Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia,” was written by the famous British archaeologist Max E. L. Mallowan (d. 1978), who explains:
“Unfortunately, this apparently satisfactory estimate for the length of the E.D. period does not agree with recent carbon-14 findings, particularly material from Nippur lately tested, which may require a reduction of third millennium dates by as much as six or seven centuries. We have to face the possibility that if the newly emerging carbon-14 pattern for the third millennium is the right one, we must jettison the whole of the previously accepted basis of Egyptian chronology upon which the Mesopotamian in large part depends. But we should be reluctant to do this without much stronger contrary evidence, for Egyptian calculations based on written evidence can be checked on astronomical grounds with but a small margin of error [this supposed “astronomical” support for the Egyptian chronology is increasingly rejected by modern scholars! – C.O.J.] and, if we accept a low carbon-14 chronology for the E.D. period, we are faced with a big and unexplained hiatus between this and the neolithic, for which the same method has given unexpectedly high dates. Some authorities are therefore for the present inclined to believe that at this end of the third millennium there was some physical disturbance in the solar magnetic field, which may have affected the level of the carbon-14 activity in the carbon exchange reservoir.” (Pages 242-243)
True, this was written back in 1971, well before calibration curves had been worked out and extended back to this early period. But still, archaeologists excavating the early civilizations of the ancient Near East are usually distrustful of carbon-14 dates.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Are the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt in conflict with the Biblical date of the Flood, i.e., c. 2500 BCE according the Hebrew Masoretic text and c. 3500 BCE according to the Greek Septuagint version (LXX)? (The Septuagint version adds 100 years to the age of certain of the pre-Flood patriarchs at the time of their firstborns, beyond the ages given in the Masoretic text.)
Many seem to believe that the chronologies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are safely fixed, while in fact they are very loosely founded and changeable.
The chronology of ancient Mesopotamia, for example, has been considerably shortened, step by step, as a result of research during the past century, as illustrated in the table below, which shows the gradual lowering of the datings of the reigns of Sargon I and Hammurabi. The chronology of ancient Egypt has been shortened in a similar way during the same period. The following chart illustrates this, the names at the left being those of the more prominent experts in the field of ancient Mesopotamian (Akkadian) history and chronology during successive periods of research in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The problems with the ancient chronologies are far from solved, and it is more than likely that they will be further reduced. One problem is that they are often in conflict with C14 (radioactive Carbon 14) dates.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1:2 (1971) tentatively dates the Early Dynastic (E.D.) period in Mesopotamia to c. 3000-2450 BCE, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to quote what this work has to say about one of the problems with this dating. Chapter XVI, “The Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia,” was written by the famous British archaeologist Max E. L. Mallowan (d. 1978), who explains:
“Unfortunately, this apparently satisfactory estimate for the length of the E.D. period does not agree with recent carbon-14 findings, particularly material from Nippur lately tested, which may require a reduction of third millennium dates by as much as six or seven centuries. We have to face the possibility that if the newly emerging carbon-14 pattern for the third millennium is the right one, we must jettison the whole of the previously accepted basis of Egyptian chronology upon which the Mesopotamian in large part depends. But we should be reluctant to do this without much stronger contrary evidence, for Egyptian calculations based on written evidence can be checked on astronomical grounds with but a small margin of error [this supposed “astronomical” support for the Egyptian chronology is increasingly rejected by modern scholars! – C.O.J.] and, if we accept a low carbon-14 chronology for the E.D. period, we are faced with a big and unexplained hiatus between this and the neolithic, for which the same method has given unexpectedly high dates. Some authorities are therefore for the present inclined to believe that at this end of the third millennium there was some physical disturbance in the solar magnetic field, which may have affected the level of the carbon-14 activity in the carbon exchange reservoir.” (Pages 242-243)
True, this was written back in 1971, well before calibration curves had been worked out and extended back to this early period. But still, archaeologists excavating the early civilizations of the ancient Near East are usually distrustful of carbon-14 dates.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Are the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt in conflict with the Biblical date of the Flood, i.e., c. 2500 BCE according the Hebrew Masoretic text and c. 3500 BCE according to the Greek Septuagint version (LXX)? (The Septuagint version adds 100 years to the age of certain of the pre-Flood patriarchs at the time of their firstborns, beyond the ages given in the Masoretic text.)
Many seem to believe that the chronologies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are safely fixed, while in fact they are very loosely founded and changeable.
The chronology of ancient Mesopotamia, for example, has been considerably shortened, step by step, as a result of research during the past century, as illustrated in the table below, which shows the gradual lowering of the datings of the reigns of Sargon I and Hammurabi. The chronology of ancient Egypt has been shortened in a similar way during the same period. The following chart illustrates this, the names at the left being those of the more prominent experts in the field of ancient Mesopotamian (Akkadian) history and chronology during successive periods of research in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The problems with the ancient chronologies are far from solved, and it is more than likely that they will be further reduced. One problem is that they are often in conflict with C14 (radioactive Carbon 14) dates.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1:2 (1971) tentatively dates the Early Dynastic (E.D.) period in Mesopotamia to c. 3000-2450 BCE, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to quote what this work has to say about one of the problems with this dating. Chapter XVI, “The Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia,” was written by the famous British archaeologist Max E. L. Mallowan (d. 1978), who explains:
“Unfortunately, this apparently satisfactory estimate for the length of the E.D. period does not agree with recent carbon-14 findings, particularly material from Nippur lately tested, which may require a reduction of third millennium dates by as much as six or seven centuries. We have to face the possibility that if the newly emerging carbon-14 pattern for the third millennium is the right one, we must jettison the whole of the previously accepted basis of Egyptian chronology upon which the Mesopotamian in large part depends. But we should be reluctant to do this without much stronger contrary evidence, for Egyptian calculations based on written evidence can be checked on astronomical grounds with but a small margin of error [this supposed “astronomical” support for the Egyptian chronology is increasingly rejected by modern scholars! – C.O.J.] and, if we accept a low carbon-14 chronology for the E.D. period, we are faced with a big and unexplained hiatus between this and the neolithic, for which the same method has given unexpectedly high dates. Some authorities are therefore for the present inclined to believe that at this end of the third millennium there was some physical disturbance in the solar magnetic field, which may have affected the level of the carbon-14 activity in the carbon exchange reservoir.” (Pages 242-243)
True, this was written back in 1971, well before calibration curves had been worked out and extended back to this early period. But still, archaeologists excavating the early civilizations of the ancient Near East are usually distrustful of carbon-14 dates.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Are the chronologies of Mesopotamia and Egypt in conflict with the Biblical date of the Flood, i.e., c. 2500 BCE according the Hebrew Masoretic text and c. 3500 BCE according to the Greek Septuagint version (LXX)? (The Septuagint version adds 100 years to the age of certain of the pre-Flood patriarchs at the time of their firstborns, beyond the ages given in the Masoretic text.)
Many seem to believe that the chronologies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt are safely fixed, while in fact they are very loosely founded and changeable.
The chronology of ancient Mesopotamia, for example, has been considerably shortened, step by step, as a result of research during the past century, as illustrated in the table below, which shows the gradual lowering of the datings of the reigns of Sargon I and Hammurabi. The chronology of ancient Egypt has been shortened in a similar way during the same period. The following chart illustrates this, the names at the left being those of the more prominent experts in the field of ancient Mesopotamian (Akkadian) history and chronology during successive periods of research in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The problems with the ancient chronologies are far from solved, and it is more than likely that they will be further reduced. One problem is that they are often in conflict with C14 (radioactive Carbon 14) dates.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1:2 (1971) tentatively dates the Early Dynastic (E.D.) period in Mesopotamia to c. 3000-2450 BCE, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to quote what this work has to say about one of the problems with this dating. Chapter XVI, “The Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia,” was written by the famous British archaeologist Max E. L. Mallowan (d. 1978), who explains:
“Unfortunately, this apparently satisfactory estimate for the length of the E.D. period does not agree with recent carbon-14 findings, particularly material from Nippur lately tested, which may require a reduction of third millennium dates by as much as six or seven centuries. We have to face the possibility that if the newly emerging carbon-14 pattern for the third millennium is the right one, we must jettison the whole of the previously accepted basis of Egyptian chronology upon which the Mesopotamian in large part depends. But we should be reluctant to do this without much stronger contrary evidence, for Egyptian calculations based on written evidence can be checked on astronomical grounds with but a small margin of error [this supposed “astronomical” support for the Egyptian chronology is increasingly rejected by modern scholars! – C.O.J.] and, if we accept a low carbon-14 chronology for the E.D. period, we are faced with a big and unexplained hiatus between this and the neolithic, for which the same method has given unexpectedly high dates. Some authorities are therefore for the present inclined to believe that at this end of the third millennium there was some physical disturbance in the solar magnetic field, which may have affected the level of the carbon-14 activity in the carbon exchange reservoir.” (Pages 242-243)
True, this was written back in 1971, well before calibration curves had been worked out and extended back to this early period. But still, archaeologists excavating the early civilizations of the ancient Near East are usually distrustful of carbon-14 dates.
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The Flood of Noah’s Time
7847
The Flood of Noah’s Time
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