Genesis 7:11 kjv
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Genesis 7:11 nkjv
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Genesis 7:11 niv
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month?on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
Genesis 7:11 esv
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
Genesis 7:11 nlt
When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky.
Genesis 7 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:2 | "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep..." | The "deep" (tehom) is foundational, showing God's control. |
| Gen 1:6-7 | "And God said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.'... so God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse." | The flood, with waters from above and below, reverses creation's water separation. |
| Gen 6:5-7 | "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great... and the Lord was sorry... 'I will blot out man...'" | Provides the divine reason and decree for the flood. |
| Gen 7:4 | "For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights..." | God's precise timing for the flood's onset. |
| Gen 8:2 | "The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the heavens was restrained." | Describes the ceasing of the floodwaters, mirroring Gen 7:11. |
| Prov 3:20 | "by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew." | God's knowledge and power over subterranean waters and atmospheric moisture. |
| Job 38:8-11 | "Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst out from the womb...? Thus far shall you come, and no farther..." | God's absolute control over mighty waters and their boundaries. |
| Psa 29:3 | "The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is over mighty waters." | Emphasizes God's sovereign power over all waters and natural phenomena. |
| Isa 24:18 | "For the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble." | Parallel imagery of heavenly "windows" and earthly upheaval for judgment. |
| Jer 5:22 | "Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea..." | God's power to set and remove boundaries for waters, affirming His might. |
| Hab 3:8-10 | "Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord? Or your anger against the rivers... The deep uttered its voice..." | Illustrates God's overwhelming power over waters during judgment. |
| Mal 3:10 | "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse... if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing..." | Shows "windows of heaven" also used for blessing, highlighting divine control over both judgment and favor. |
| Lk 17:26-27 | "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating... until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." | Christ references the flood as historical fact and a type of future judgment. |
| Heb 11:7 | "By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household." | Emphasizes Noah's faith and the certainty of God's warning regarding the unseen flood. |
| 1 Pet 3:20 | "...in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water." | Highlights the saving aspect amidst divine judgment. |
| 2 Pet 2:5 | "if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly..." | Confirms the global, destructive judgment upon the ungodly world. |
| 2 Pet 3:5-6 | "For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water, and that by means of these waters the world that then existed was deluged and perished." | Affirms the earth's pre-flood state and the flood's destructive, water-based power. |
| Amos 9:6 | "...who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth..." | God's control over the vast bodies of water, even to repurpose them for judgment. |
| Gen 5:32 | "After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth." | Establishes Noah's age in relation to significant events and the long prelude to the flood. |
| Psa 104:6-9 | "You covered it with the deep as with a garment... at your rebuke the waters fled... You set a boundary that they may not pass..." | Reinforces God's mastery over the primordial deep and its boundaries, demonstrating His ability to remove them. |
| Phil 2:9-11 | "...every knee should bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." | God's ultimate sovereignty displayed through Christ, reflective of His total control over all creation and judgment. |
| Rev 21:1 | "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more." | The concept of a passing away of an old world through water (flood) foreshadows a final renewal where elements like the "sea" (representative of chaos/deep) will no longer exist. |
Genesis 7 verses
Genesis 7 11 Meaning
Genesis 7:11 marks the exact moment—the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the second month, seventeenth day—when God's catastrophic judgment began upon the earth. It details two primary, simultaneous sources for the global deluge: immense subterranean waters violently erupting from "the great deep," and vast torrents of water pouring down from "the windows of heaven." This description profoundly underscores the flood's unprecedented scale and supernatural nature, unequivocally portraying it as a direct act of divine wrath and justice orchestrated by God.
Genesis 7 11 Context
Genesis chapter 7 vividly recounts the precise onset of the global flood, the culmination of God's righteous judgment against the pervasive and profound wickedness of humanity described in Genesis chapter 6. Following 120 years of divine patience (Gen 6:3) and a final seven-day grace period (Gen 7:4) after Noah, his family, and the animals entered the ark, this verse specifically marks the dramatic initiation of the deluge. Historically, other cultures in the Ancient Near East also had flood narratives (e.g., the Epic of Gilgamesh, Atra-Hasis Epic), often portraying the events as capricious acts of various deities or outcomes of inter-divine quarrels. However, the biblical account fundamentally differentiates itself. It presents the flood as a direct, purposeful act of the singular, holy, and omnipotent God of Israel, provoked by humanity's moral depravity. Crucially, the account emphasizes God's precise timing and His absolute control over all natural forces—both subterranean and atmospheric—demonstrating His unparalleled sovereignty over creation. This judgment can be understood as an "un-creating" or "re-ordering" of the world God formed, cleansing it before a new covenant and beginning.
Genesis 7 11 Word analysis
- In the six hundredth year of Noah's life: This precise chronological marker (be-shenat shesh-me'ot shanah le-ḥaye Noah) underscores God's meticulous timing and faithfulness in executing His declared judgment. Noah's advanced age at this point signifies the completion of a long period of grace and preparation.
- in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month: Adds extreme calendrical specificity to the timing of the event. This highly detailed date highlights divine intention and absolute sovereignty, emphasizing that the flood was not a random natural occurrence but a pre-ordained act. While its exact correspondence to modern calendars or prophetic links (e.g., to Passover) requires careful consideration, the significance remains God's unfailing precision.
- on that day: (Hebrew: ba-yom ha-zeh) This phrase emphatically highlights the immediate, sudden, and simultaneous commencement of all the described cataclysmic events, underscoring God's prompt and decisive action.
- all the fountains of the great deep burst forth: (Hebrew: kol ma'ayanot tehom rabbah nivke'u)
- all the fountains (kol ma'ayanot): Refers to the totality and countlessness of subterranean water sources. "All" indicates a comprehensive, global geological upheaval.
- the great deep (tehom rabbah): Tehom (deep, abyss) often refers to the primordial oceanic mass (Gen 1:2) from which the created world emerged. Rabbah (great) stresses its vastness and immensity. It signifies the release of an immense, possibly subsurface, reservoir of water, speaking to a massive hydrogeological cataclysm far beyond typical localized flooding. God demonstrates absolute control over this often-seen as chaotic element.
- burst forth (nivke'u): (Niphal passive of baka, meaning to split, cleave, or break open) Signifies a violent, rending action, implying widespread fissures or tectonic ruptures that violently unleashed waters from beneath the earth's surface. It's a divinely engineered fracturing.
- and the windows of heaven were opened: (Hebrew: arubbot ha-shamayim nifteḥu)
- windows of heaven (arubbot ha-shamayim): Arubbot literally means 'sluice-gates' or 'floodgates', implying a controlled, yet overwhelming, release. This imagery describes a massive, continuous, and unprecedented downpour from the sky, going beyond regular rainfall. This may relate to the "waters above the firmament" from Gen 1:7 or simply intense atmospheric discharge.
- were opened (nifteḥu): (Niphal passive of pataḥ, meaning to open) Like "burst forth," this highlights a divinely initiated action. God is the active agent in orchestrating this dual-sourced deluge from both the earth's depths and the heavens.
- Words-group analysis: The striking combination and synchronization of "fountains of the great deep burst forth" and "windows of heaven were opened" profoundly emphasize that the flood was a bifurcated divine judgment. It originated simultaneously from both subterranean and atmospheric realms, portraying an unparalleled global cataclysm. This dualistic origin, orchestrated by God alone, unequivocally highlights His absolute sovereignty over all created elements, demonstrating His capacity to unravel and cleanse the very fabric of creation to achieve His purposes. This comprehensive action far exceeds any ordinary meteorological or geological event, marking it as a unique, divinely appointed judgment.
Genesis 7 11 Bonus section
The consistent detailing of ages and dates within Genesis, exemplified in this verse, speaks to the biblical account's grounding in history and the precision of divine providence. For ancient Near Eastern readers, such specificity would affirm the account's credibility and its foundation in deliberate, non-random acts of a powerful deity. The "fountains of the great deep" are a recurring motif in wisdom literature (e.g., Prov 3:20, Job 38:16), reinforcing God's foundational control over vast, unseen reservoirs of water. The release of these fountains and the opening of heaven's windows represent a cosmic undoing of the separation of waters at creation (Gen 1:6-9), a temporary reversal of order for the purpose of divine judgment and renewal. This holistic cataclysm from both above and below highlights the unique, supernatural character of the Genesis flood, far beyond human or purely natural phenomena. It provides a theological and historical framework for understanding the nature of God's justice and the comprehensive scale of His interventions in human history.
Genesis 7 11 Commentary
Genesis 7:11 serves as the climactic point initiating the divinely appointed global flood. It dispels any notion of a localized event by describing an unprecedented dual assault of water: the violent eruption of subterranean "fountains of the great deep" combined with the relentless outpouring from the "windows of heaven." This simultaneity underscores the flood's supernatural intensity and global scope, clearly identifying it as a direct act of God. The precise calendrical details—Noah's age and the specific day—underscore God's meticulous timing, unwavering resolve, and sovereign control over creation and history. The flood, initiated in this verse, functions as a powerful testament to God's holiness, His intolerance of widespread sin, and His ability to execute perfect justice. It illustrates His complete command over all cosmic elements, orchestrating a profound "un-creation" of the world to prepare for a new beginning with a righteous remnant.