Research Articles: Flood

Archaeological, historical and other scientific articles dealing with the historicity of the Genesis Flood (Gen. 6-9), Noah's Ark, early post-Flood history, and other Flood related matters.

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Digging for Truth-Episode 18: Noah's Flood: A Worldwide Catastrophe (Part One) 10/2/2018 - by Lien Voong

Join co-host Henry Smith as he interviews geologist Dr. Andrew Snelling. In part one, we discuss the extent and nature of the Flood, and the eruption of Mt. St. Helens as a microcosm of what happened in the year of the Genesis Flood at the time of Noah.

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The Case for the Septuagint's Chronology in Genesis 5 and 11 7/27/2018 - by Henry B Smith Jr MA MAR

Many biblical scholars who interpret the genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 as yielding a continuous chronology from Adam to Abraham claim the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) preserves the original begetting ages for the patriarchs.

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Evangelicalism's Search for Chronological Gaps in Genesis 5 and 11 7/20/2018 - by Jeremy Sexton

Evangelicalism's Search for Chronological Gaps in Genesis 5 and 11: A Historical, Hermeneutical and Linguistic Critique: This article sheds historical light on William Henry Green's influential article, "Primeval Chronology,"(1890), establishes the meaning of the hiphil of YLD (translated “begat” in the AV) throughout Genesis 5 and 11, and analyzes Andrew Steinmann’s recent case for chronological gaps.

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A Report on the Genesis 5 and 11 Research Project: Updated July 27, 2018 4/29/2018 - by Henry B Smith Jr MA MAR

The Genesis 5 and 11 Research Project continues to produce new research articles and uncover evidence regarding the genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11...

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MT, SP, or LXX? Deciphering a Chronological and Textual Conundrum in Genesis 5 4/10/2018 - by Henry B Smith Jr MA MAR

In several articles, I have argued that the internal, external and historical evidence supports the originality of the longer primeval chronology found (mostly) in the LXX...

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Methuselah’s Begetting Age in Genesis 5:25 and the Primeval Chronology of the Septuagint 8/2/2017 - by Henry B Smith Jr MA MAR

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new article, "Methuselah’s Begetting Age in Genesis 5:25 and the Primeval Chronology of the Septuagint: A Closer Look at the Textual and Historical Evidence." This article appears in the 10th volume of the Answers Research Journal. It is excerpted here on the ABR website, and is now available for reading and download on the Answers in Genesis website.

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From Adam to Abraham: An Update on the Genesis 5 and 11 Research Project: Dec. 16, 2017 4/26/2017 - by Henry B Smith Jr MA MAR

The goal of this article is to update the ABR community of supporters and other interested readers on the present state of the Genesis 5 and 11 Research Project. The project officially began in 2016 (with its unofficial roots extending back to 2010). The research has produced substantial fruit, and as a result, ABR is pleased to announce plans to publish our first book, tentatively titled, "From Adam to Abraham: The Case for the Septuagint’s Chronology in Genesis 5 and 11." This update will survey the goals of the project, describe new developments and the present direction of our research, answer some questions we have received about Genesis 5 and 11 from supporters, and briefly outline plans for publication(s).

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Who Was Born When Enosh Was 90?: A Semantic Reevaluation of William Henry Green’s Chronological Gaps 4/6/2016 - by Jeremy Sexton

For a number of years, the ABR staff has been endeavoring to conduct research on the Genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11. As we worked towards the launching of this important project, Pastor Jeremy Sexton published this article in the Westminster Journal. Since it was very much in accord with the direction of our research, we invited Pastor Sexton to republish his article here, and he graciously agreed. We expect this to be the first of many articles (re)published by ABR that deal with this important, ancient, and complex subject. For more about the project, please visit: http://www.biblearchaeology.org/about/ancientneareasternbiblicalchronologies.aspx

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Science and the Bible: Friends or Foes? 3/23/2015 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

A strong temptation for Christians with advanced training in the sciences is to compromise on the plain sense of the biblical text when faced with apparent conflicts between it and popular scientific views. Some such views are clearly contrary to Scripture, such as Darwin’s theory of evolution, and are promptly rejected by those who value the Bible as God’s revelation. Other views, however, are more subtle in the way they conflict with the Bible, causing some to wonder, “Maybe the ‘plain sense’ of Scripture is not the right sense?”

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Revisiting the Peleg Event 11/25/2014 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

In the Spring 2009 issue of Bible and Spade, I wrote an article entitled "Making Sense of the Days of Peleg." In it I attempted to arrive at a biblically faithful and scientifically reasonable understanding of Genesis 10:25: “To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan” (ESV).

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Making Sense of the Days of Peleg 11/19/2014 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

Some very popular books today, such as Graham Hancock’s Fingerprints of the Gods, examine the evidence for a “mysterious” civilization in the ancient past. Among other indicators, this widespread culture left behind megalithic (“large stone”) buildings in such diverse places as Tiahuanaco in Bolivia, the Osireion in Egypt, and Baalbek in Lebanon. These structures, built of gigantic hewn stones that leave one wondering how they could have been quarried, moved and fitted together with a precision that challenges our understanding of the capabilities of ancient man, are either largely ignored by mainstream science or not considered within a biblical framework.

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Report on the “International and Judi Mountain Symposium” – Sirnak, Turkey 10/14/2013 - by Gordon Franz MA

The “International Noah and Judi Mountain” symposium was held in Sirnak, Turkey, under the auspices of Sirnak University. One of the purposes of this conference was to set forth the case for Cudi Dagh, the mountain just to the south of Sirnak, as the landing place of Noah’s Ark in South East Turkey. This mountain is not to be confused with the (late) traditional Mount Ararat, called Agri Dagh, in northeastern Turkey.

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Unfolding a Mystery: My Investigations into the Baris Question 8/22/2013 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

Research on biblical subjects is an ongoing labor. It is rare that a breakthrough in understanding comes out of the blue; rather, it is the end result of a great deal of reading, thinking, bouncing ideas off of others, and praying for insight. This article is the story of such a journey. As most of you who have been following ABR are aware, I have long had an intense interest in understanding as much as possible about Noah’s Ark and where its remains might be found...

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Review of the "Unsolved Mystery of Noah's Ark" 2/7/2013 - by Gordon Franz and Bill Crouse

Gordon Franz and Bill Crouse provide a review of the recent book, "The Unsolved Mystery of Noah's Ark" by Mary Irwin.

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Insights from the Animal Kingdom on the Scope of Noah’s Flood 1/23/2013 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

Some who claim to be biblical Christians nevertheless refuse to accept the straightforward sense of Scripture in every case. In particular, many who are steeped in the sciences say that it is impossible, scientifically speaking, for the Earth to have been created in six literal 24-hour days and for the Flood to have been a worldwide cataclysm. Notwithstanding the unambiguous, comprehensive language of Genesis 7:19, which states that the Flood covered “all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens,” they insist that, due to difficulties they see in reconciling certain scientific understandings with a worldwide Flood, it had to have been a local Mesopotamian event.

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The Landing-Place of Noah's Ark: Testimonial, Geological and Historical Considerations: Part Four 10/26/2011 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

Previously, we looked in Part One at the general validity of testimony in establishing facts. Next, Part Two examined ways to reconcile the Ararat testimonies with general scientific concerns. Part Three considered ways geological data, in particular, can coexist with the Ararat testimonies. Finally, we turn now to address a matter of history.

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The Landing-Place of Noah's Ark: Testimonial, Geological and Historical Considerations: Part Three 10/25/2011 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

In Part One of this study we looked at issues relating to the general validity of testimony as a tool for evaluating truth-claims, and in Part Two discussed ways to accommodate these testimonies in the search for Noah’s Ark without throwing science out on its ear, just exercising care to use it with minimal assumptions about unknown initial conditions. Since geology is supposedly an objective science rather than one that assumes unknowable initial conditions, in Part Three we now look at the claim that geological studies have proven that Mt. Ararat is a young volcanic peak that could not have existed at the time of the Flood.

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The Landing-Place of Noah's Ark: Testimonial, Geological and Historical Considerations: Part Two 10/24/2011 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

There are a number of issues that frequently are raised as reasons for disregarding the body of testimony asserting Noah’s Ark has not only survived on Mt. Ararat, but has been seen by numerous eyewitnesses. We now turn to a consideration of several of these issues.

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The Landing-Place of Noah's Ark: Testimonial, Geological and Historical Considerations: Part One 10/20/2011 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

The lack of success in finding Noah’s Ark on Turkey’s Mt. Ararat has prompted various researchers to search for the Ark elsewhere. Since the biblical “mountains of Ararat” cannot be exegetically equated with the single mountain known today as Mt. Ararat (Agri Dagh, “the painful mountain,” in Turkish), we cannot use Scripture to prove Mt. Ararat was where the Ark landed, nor that it was even in existence as the Flood waters were abating. This ambiguity has opened the door for suggestions that other peaks could have been the site of the Ark’s landing-place.

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"The Genesis Flood" Celebrates its 50th Anniversary 9/16/2011 - by Henry B. Smith Jr. MA

Over 50 years ago, Henry Morris and John Whitcomb joined together to write a controversial book that sparked dialogue and debate on Darwin and Jesus, science and the Bible, evolution and creation—culminating in what would later be called the birth of the modern creation science movement. This seminal work defined the science and Bible debate in the 20th century. If Genesis is true, then the Flood and its after-effects must explain most stratigraphic and fossil evidence. Drs. Morris and Whitcomb brought their scientific and theological expertise to bear on the question of the biblical account of a worldwide flood and how it aligns with earth’s history written in the stones.

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Rocking the Boat, Part Two: The Hydrological Model of the Flood 5/26/2011 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

I wrote "Rocking the Boat: The Value of New Ideas" for the May 2011 issue of the ABR Newsletter. It stirred up a surprising number of comments! It is gratifying to see people actually read and thoughtfully consider the information ABR provides. Such comments encourage us to believe our labor is not in vain in accomplishing two goals: first, strengthening the faith of those who already KNOW they are God's people, who trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins; and second, addressing the doubts that plague the minds of those who would LIKE to believe, but find their understanding of the Christian faith clashes with the concept of reality our culture has instilled in them. Living in a society that continually bombards them with a worldview which denies the existence of absolute Truth and objective moral standards, some have honest trouble giving unreserved mental assent to the Bible's teachings. We want to help these folks see how reasonable and satisfying, both mentally and spiritually, the teachings of the Bible are when properly understood, by clearing up the distortions of the media and secular academics.

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Rocking the Boat: The Value of New Ideas 5/16/2011 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

In the realm of Creation Science, there are a few concepts which have taken on the status of virtual orthodoxy - the measuring rod by which new proposals are evaluated. These concepts include such ideas as the Flood being an event accompanied by massive horizontal earth movements and magma-outpouring activity all over the world, and that the Ice Age directly traces its origins to the Flood. Because these concepts are usually backed by well-known Christian organizations, there is an unspoken assumption that they know best and we should take them at their word.

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Texas Flood Rapidly Creates Canyon 4/7/2011 - by Stephen Caesar MA

The theory of uniformitarianism states that the geological formations we see on Earth today came into existence over millions of years through the slow, gradual action of natural forces. Catastrophism posits exactly the opposite: that the features we see on the surface of the world today came about rapidly, through massive natural disasters. In the nineteenth century, uniformitarianism replaced catastrophism as the dominant theory in geology.

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The Influence of the Ancient Near East on the Book of Genesis 3/24/2011 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

At many Bible colleges and seminaries today, students are told to understand the book of Genesis as typical ancient Near Eastern (ANE) literature, sharing many features in common with them. Representative of scholars teaching this view is John H. Walton of Wheaton College. He proposes that, following a pattern scholars detect in ANE literature, Genesis 1 presents a cosmology that bypasses entirely the creation of the initial raw materials of the universe. Instead, it, regards them as preexistent, with their origin never addressed.

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Who Were the Sons of God in Genesis 6? 2/4/2011 - by David Livingston PhD

In Genesis 6:1–8 we read about some persons who may be a pre-Flood link between the Bible and the cultures of the ancient Near East. They are the “sons of the gods.” The biblical reference to them should have some relationship with historical fact. If so, we should be able to lift these early chapters of Genesis out of what may be to some a foggy mysticism, and make connections with extra-biblical historical accounts.

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Creation or the Flood? A Study of Several Passages of Scripture 11/29/2010 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

I frequently take part in online discussions where the subject is some aspect of reconciling science and Scripture. These interactions frequently raise the issue of how to interpret certain passages of the Bible. After all, if our understanding of Scripture is faulty for some reason, how can we hope to properly relate the Bible and science?

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The Ancient Document Rule and the Flood of Noah’s Day 11/17/2010 - by Robert T Boyd

No other book in the world has been ridiculed, criticized and sought to be destroyed as has the Bible. People have been cruelly persecuted, burned at the stake, and lives have been forfeited by other methods of punishment simply because they read or sought to preserve the Scriptures! There is no logical answer as to “why” there has been and is such hatred for a Book whose writings have been instrumental in changing lives AND keeping morals in balance. Other books come and go, but the Bible is a supernatural Book, offering spiritual hope for the hopelessly lost.

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Noah’s Ark Discovered Again? 4/30/2010 - by Bill Crouse and Gordon Franz

The discovery of Noah’s Ark was announced last Sunday (4/24/10) by a Chinese organization from Hong Kong (Noah’s Ark Ministries, International). The problem with this is that it seems like the “discovery” of Noah’s Ark is getting to be almost an annual event. What in the world is going on? We think it’s a question that is easy to analyze...

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A Review of: "The Search for Noah's Ark" 12/31/2008 - by Gordon Franz MA

Adventurer Robert Cornuke has produced a new video which claims that remnants of Noah’s Ark have been found in the Elburz Mountains about 54 miles from Tehran, the capital of Iran...

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Noah's Ark Update 9/26/2008 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

To date, the Ark has not yet been found. Several locations for it have been proposed: Mount Ararat in northeastern Turkey; Mount Cudi (Judi) in southeastern Turkey; the so-called Durupinar site near Mount Ararat; and several mountains in northern Iran, including Damavand, Sabalon, and Suleiman...

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An Alternative Interpretation of Bender's Wood 8/4/2008 - by Kurt P Wise PhD

I would suggest that the best interpretation of the evidence is that Bender’s wood came from a tree which grew centuries after Noah’s Flood...

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The Genesis Flood: An Interpretive Key to the Past 7/30/2008 - by Henry B. Smith Jr. MA

For centuries, the Biblical Flood described in chapters 6–8 in the book of Genesis was considered global, cataclysmic and historical. Since the late 18th century, however, the historicity of the Flood has come under constant attack, and is now rejected as a fable by most people in Western societies...

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Of Testimonies and Models 6/24/2008 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

"I'll believe it when I see it!" How often have we heard those words? There are certain subjects that trigger in us an unwillingness to accept what others say. Over the years each of us has developed a penchant for taking some things at face value, while others cause us to demand extremely rigorous proofs before we will accept their factuality - if at all...

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Has Anyone Discovered Noah's Ark? 5/21/2008 - by Gary Byers MA

ABR staff members Gordon Franz and Rick Lanser have spent considerable time and research with respect to Noah's Ark. There are two possible candidates ABR has identified within the region of Ararat. 1. Mount Cudi, a view held by Bill Crouse and ABR Staff Member Gordon Franz. 2. Mount Ararat, a view held by Rick Lanser, ABR Staff Member. Both views have significant merits, so we urge you to read the research and decide for yourself!

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An Armenian Perspective on the Search for Noah's Ark 2/23/2008 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

The title of this paper, “An Armenian Perspective on the Search for Noah’s Ark,” was chosen because I believe that the case for Mount Cudi as the landing-place of the Ark is built upon data coming exclusively from a single Syro-Mesopotamian historical stream, and is thus self-authenticating...

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A Localized Flood? 1/9/2008 - by Stephen Caesar MA

Remarkably similar flood stories can be found all over the world. The sheer number of stories from all over the globe, in addition to similar details in them (a mountaintop, a boat, attendant animals), argues that at some point in the distant past, the entire world must have suffered a devastating Flood...

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Genesis and Ancient Near Eastern Stories of Creation and Flood: Part IV 3/7/2007 - by David T. Tsumura PhD

Many suggestions for a unifying theme of Genesis 1–11 as a whole...

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Genesis and Ancient Near Eastern Stories of Creation and Flood: Part III 2/23/2007 - by David T. Tsumura PhD

Until recently, the Creation and the Flood have often been treated as separate units. One of the reasons for this may be that initially discovered ancient Mesopotamian documents provided either a Creation myth without the Flood story...

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Genesis and Ancient Near Eastern Stories of Creation and Flood: Part II 2/21/2007 - by David T. Tsumura PhD

Creation has been one of the most interesting and intriguing subjects in the Old Testament. In modern Biblical scholarship a number of new interpretations of the early chapters of Genesis have been suggested, especially in the areas of comparative study and literary analysis...

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Genesis and Ancient Near Eastern Stories of Creation and Flood: An Introduction Part I 2/17/2007 - by David T. Tsumura PhD

Creation has been one of the most interesting and intriguing subjects in the Old Testament. In modern Biblical scholarship a number of new interpretations of the early chapters of Genesis have been suggested, especially in the areas of comparative study and literary analysis...

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Did the BASE Institute Discover Noah’s Ark in Iran? 2/16/2007 - by Gordon Franz MA

The recent reputed discovery of Noah’s Ark by the BASE Institute has gotten a great deal of airtime as well as publicity on the Internet. There are, however, some excellent reviews that critique the claim that Noah’s Ark landed in Iran...

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Great Discoveries in Biblical Archaeology: The Atra-Hasis Epic 10/25/2006 - by Gary Byers MA

The Bible is not the only ancient record of Creation and the Flood. Well-known in antiquity is the Atra-Hasis Epic. Atra-Hasis, meaning “exceeding wise,” is the name of the story’s principal character. Dating from the 17th century BC...

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Noah's Ark in Iran? 7/19/2006 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

Since mid-June, 2006 there has been a flurry of reports in the media and on the Internet about the possible discovery of Noah's Ark on a mountain in northern Iran. Robert Cornuke has now focused on what is perhaps the biggest target of all, both literally and figuratively – Noah's Ark...

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Why Did God Send the Flood? 6/28/2006 - by Austin Robbins DD

The Biblical account of the great flood of Noah’s day opens with an enigmatic passage, Genesis 6: 1-4. The record of Noah, it seems, could easily have omitted them, going directly from the end of chapter five to 6: 5 without losing any essential information pertaining to the flood. The flow of the Genesis narrative seems to be interrupted by these verses...

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Of Peleg and Pangaea 5/10/2006 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

The Genesis 1:9-10 passage quoted above tells us that at Creation, all the waters of the sea were "gathered into one place." I think that the vast majority of commentators have overlooked the significant corollary of this statement - namely, that there was a single original landmass, likewise "gathered into one place."...

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A Universal Flood: 3000 B.C. 12/11/2005 - by David Livingston PhD

This was the Flood of Noah's day. It was a worldwide cataclysmic Flood sent by God to destroy all living things except for eight people who survived on the Ark. In addition to the Bible, many very early historical records also document this Flood...

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There Be Giants in the Earth 12/4/2005 - by Rick Lanser MDiv

"There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown" (Gen. 6:4, KJV). With this verse in Genesis the Bible introduces to us the existence of giants...

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Noah's Ark: The True Story? 11/6/2005 - by Henry B. Smith Jr. MA

Aired on TLC on 12/23/04, and many times subsequently, Noah's Ark: The True Story is fairly typical of television programs that depict the Noachian Deluge. The Biblical account is reduced to a local flood in Mesopotamia, while Noah is depicted not as the righteous man of God, but a Sumerian beer trader earning a living on the Euphrates River...

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