Genesis 7:20

Gen 7:20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

Ver. 20. Fifteen cubits upward.] So, above any mountain. The Popish fable of Enoch, preserved alive in some high place of the earthly paradise, shall as soon be believed as the Jewish tale of Og (one of the old giants, say they), escaping death by riding astride upon the ark.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Fifteen cubits upward . . . and the mountains were covered--twenty-two and a half feet above the summits of the highest hills. The language is not consistent with the theory of a partial deluge.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. Fifteen cubits upward] Should any person object to the universality of the deluge because he may imagine there is not water sufficient to drown the whole globe in the manner here related, he may find a most satisfactory answer to all the objections he can raise on this ground in Mr. Ray's Physico-theological Discourses, 2d edit., 8vo., 1693.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(20) Fifteen cubits upward.—This apparently was the draught of the ark, computed after it had settled. in the region of Ararat. Fifteen cubits would be about twenty-two feet, and as the ark floated onward without interruption until it finally grounded, there must have been this depth of water even on the highest summit in its course. Continuous rains for forty days and nights would scarcely produce so vast a mass of water, unless we suppose that the adâmâh was some low-lying spot of ground whither the waters from many regions flowed together; but this is negatived by the ark having travelled into Armenia. In England the whole average mean rainfall in a year is not more than twenty-eight or thirty inches in depth. If we suppose this amount to have fallen in every twenty-four hours, the total quantity would be about 100 feet. Such a rain would denude the mountains of all soil, uproot all trees, sweep away all buildings, dig out new courses for the rivers, completely alter the whole surface of the ground, and cover the lower lands with débris. Wherever there was any obstacle in their way, the waters would deepen in volume, and quickly burst a passage through it. But as they would be seeking the lower grounds during the whole forty days, it is difficult to understand how they could cover any of the heights to the depth of twenty-two feet, unless there were some cosmic convulsion (see Note on Gen_7:11), by which the waters from the equator were carried towards the poles, and in this way there would be no difficulty in the ark being carried against the current of the Tigris and Euphrates up to the high lands of Armenia.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. Fifteen cubits] P describes a depth of water of 15 cubits (= 22 feet) above the mountains. Why should 15 cubits be mentioned? Very possibly, because the height of the ark was 30 cubits (Gen_6:15), and the ark was considered to be submerged for half its depth. It would thus just touch the top of “the mountains of Ararat” (Gen_8:4).

21 (P). And all flesh died] Cf. Gen_6:17. P here describes the death by drowning of all living creatures.

creeping thing] Literally, as marg., swarming thing that swarmeth. See note on Gen_1:20. The word used is characteristic of P.

22 (J). all] The account in this and the following verse gives J’s description of the destruction of all life. The repetition is obvious.

in whose nostrils, &c.] The expression is evidently based upon the words in Gen_2:7, “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” But “the breath of life” of that passage is combined here with “the spirit of life” which we find in Gen_6:17, Gen_7:15 (P). The one is a phrase characteristic of J, the other of P. The combination is not found elsewhere. Possibly the word “spirit” has been introduced by the compiler or by a copyist.

in the dry land] as if to emphasize the thought that the marine animals survived. The word in the Heb. rendered “the dry land” is different from that so rendered in Gen_1:9 (P).

23 (J). was destroyed … were destroyed] The better reading is that rendered in the R.V. marg., and he destroyed every living thing. For the word “destroyed,” Heb. blotted out, see Gen_6:7, Gen_7:4.

24 (P). an hundred and fifty days] The duration of the Flood, corresponding to the 40 days of J in Gen_7:12. According to P, the rising of the waters, described in Gen_7:18-20, continued or “prevailed” for 150 days, after which the waters began to fall: see Gen_8:3 b, 4a.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All in whose nostrils was the breath of life,.... Whether of fowls, beast, cattle, or creeping things:

of all that was in the dry land, died; by which description fishes were excepted, since they breathe not, having no lungs, and are not on the dry land, where they cannot live, but in the waters. Some pretend it to be the opinion of some Jewish writers, that the fishes did die, the waters being made hot, and scalded them; but this fable I have not met with.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Fifteen cubits were sufficient for the destruction of the highest men, or other creatures, though placed upon the highest mountains.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. Fifteen cubits upward — The arithmetical exactness here is noteworthy. Here, as in the minute specifications of time, which are given as carefully as if they had been set down in a logbook, we have the language of one who was in the midst of the scene — a spectator who was profoundly impressed by the rushing floods, the rising and slowly moving ark, the sinking hills, the drowning men and beasts, yet was not confused or bewildered amid the awful scene. He notes and records the precise date of each critical event, and coolly fathoms the deluge itself. Probably the ark drew fifteen cubits of water, and as it did not ground upon the hills, the spectator saw that they were covered to this depth. Shut in with Jehovah, though in the unwieldy ark, floating he knew not whither, faith gave Noah a confidence more calm and grand than skill and science can ever give the navigator, though in a seaworthy ship traversing familiar waters.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Fifteen cubits upward half the height of the arkdid the waters prevail. Literally, become strong; above the highest mountains obviously, and not above the ground simply; as, on the latter alternative, it could scarcely have been added, and the mountains were covered.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The mountains were covered - Therefore there were mountains before the flood.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

חמש עשרה אמה מלמעלה FIFTEEN CUBITS ABOVE —above the summits of all the mountains when once the waters reached the level of the mountains (Yoma 76a).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

חמש עשרה, this number describes how much above the highest mount the keel of the ark had risen. ויכוסו ההרים, even the tallest of the mountains were covered by at least 15 cubits of water.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.