Where did the water go?

[puddleglum]

Where did the water go? This question is sometimes asked by those who don’t believe there was a worldwide flood. They think such a flood is impossible because there would be no place for the water to go after the flood was over. But there is a simple answer to this question. The water didn’t go anywhere; the flood ended when parts of the earth’s surface rose up to form the continents and islands that exist today.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
Psalm 104:6-9

We can understand this better if we look at where the water came from in the first place. The answer to this is found in Genesis 7:11,12.

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. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

There were two sources of water. One was rain, which fell for 40 days and 40 nights. But not all of the water was the result of rain. “The fountains of the great deep burst forth.” The earth broke open so that water that had been trapped underneath came to the surface and covered the earth completely. Whatever force broke open the surface of the earth continued to operate and made parts of the earth rise up above the surface of the water and thus ended the flood it had begun.

Some people answer the question of where the water went by saying that the flood wasn’t really worldwide but only covered part of the flood. This explanation certainly solves the problem of where the water went but it creates two new ones. Genesis 9:8-17 says:

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

God made a covenant with Noah and promised that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood. But there have been many floods since then, many of them covering large areas and killing many people. If this flood wasn’t worldwide then God has often broken the covenant. So we must believe one of two things: either the flood covered the whole world or God can’t be relied on to keep his promises.

But we need to also consider the sign of the covenant; God set a rainbow in the clouds. This speaks of the rainbow as being something new that hadn’t existed before. This means that before the flood atmospheric conditions were very different from what they are today and rainbows never appeared. A change like this couldn’t possible be local but must be worldwide.

 

[J regia]

Where did the water go? This question is sometimes asked by those who don’t believe there was a worldwide flood. They think such a flood is impossible because there would be no place for the water to go after the flood was over. But there is a simple answer to this question. The water didn’t go anywhere; the flood ended when parts of the earth’s surface rose up to form the continents and islands that exist today.



We can understand this better if we look at where the water came from in the first place. The answer to this is found in Genesis 7:11,12.



There were two sources of water. One was rain, which fell for 40 days and 40 nights. But not all of the water was the result of rain. “The fountains of the great deep burst forth.” The earth broke open so that water that had been trapped underneath came to the surface and covered the earth completely. Whatever force broke open the surface of the earth continued to operate and made parts of the earth rise up above the surface of the water and thus ended the flood it had begun.

Some people answer the question of where the water went by saying that the flood wasn’t really worldwide but only covered part of the flood. This explanation certainly solves the problem of where the water went but it creates two new ones. Genesis 9:8-17 says:



God made a covenant with Noah and promised that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood. But there have been many floods since then, many of them covering large areas and killing many people. If this flood wasn’t worldwide then God has often broken the covenant. So we must believe one of two things: either the flood covered the whole world or God can’t be relied on to keep his promises.

But we need to also consider the sign of the covenant; God set a rainbow in the clouds. This speaks of the rainbow as being something new that hadn’t existed before. This means that before the flood atmospheric conditions were very different from what they are today and rainbows never appeared. A change like this couldn’t possible be local but must be worldwide.

But the KJV and the Hebrew bible say that the flood which drowned most of Noah's family (Gen 5:26-32) and their sheep and goats was obviously just a local event, since it was only 15 cubits high and drained away like every other similar flood before and since. Which is why the flood had no effect on the olive tree from which Noah's pet bird plucked a leaf, and why it had no effect on Noah's brothers (Jabal & Jubal) and their families, given that they are the fathers of all tent dwellers and herders and makers of harps and flutes (Gen 4:21-22) whereas Noah only built a wooden boat after his wife gave birth to triplets at aged 500 "years" old (Gen 5:32).

 

[puddleglum]

it was only 15 cubits

Genesis 7:20 says, " The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep." The total depth of the flood was much greater than 15 cubits.

 

[J regia]

Genesis 7:20 says, " The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep." The total depth of the flood was much greater than 15 cubits.

WRONG
The KJV and the Hebrew bible clearly say that the flood height was only 15 cubits. Which is why the olive tree was unaffected since it was growing outside the flooded area, and why Noah's brothers (Jubal and Jabal) weren't affected either (Gen 4:20-21).

Genesis 7:20 KJV -

Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail;​

and the mountains were covered​

 

[The Pixie]

But we need to also consider the sign of the covenant; God set a rainbow in the clouds. This speaks of the rainbow as being something new that hadn’t existed before. This means that before the flood atmospheric conditions were very different from what they are today and rainbows never appeared. A change like this couldn’t possible be local but must be worldwide.

So are you saying the refraction of light changed? Or there was no rain? Or no direct sunlight?

If the refraction of light changed, this would indicate changes to the laws of the universe; a very fundamental change to how the universe is.

If no rainfall, how did the plants grow? The Garden of Eden was a paradise; hard to see how that could be the case without rain. Gen 2:10 tells us a river flowed out of it; where did that water come from?

If no direct sunlight, then what was the point of God creating the sun on he fourth day? In what sense did it govern the day, when it was not visible - bearing in mind that daylight was there from day 1.

r was it something else?

 

[puddleglum]

So are you saying the refraction of light changed? Or there was no rain? Or no direct sunlight?

Something obviously changed. I have no idea what it was.

 

[The Pixie]

Something obviously changed. ...

Or you are wrong.

 

[J regia]

Something obviously changed. I have no idea what it was.

Or it was just an imaginative fantasy story in a book.

 

[BlessedAnomaly]

WRONG
The KJV and the Hebrew bible clearly say that the flood height was only 15 cubits. Which is why the olive tree was unaffected since it was growing outside the flooded area, and why Noah's brothers (Jubal and Jabal) weren't affected either (Gen 4:20-21).

Genesis 7:20 KJV -

Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail;​

and the mountains were covered​

Wow. He quotes scripture and he is wrong?? How ignorant.

A cubit is a foot and a half (well technically it is the measure from the elbow to the tip of the longest finger -- amounts to about 17.5 to 21 inches). Fifteen of them wouldn't cover my house. So you infer that my house is higher than the mountains around me?? How ignorant.

You point to Noah's brothers in chapter 4. But the flood is in chapter 7.

Genesis 7:7; 21-23 (NET)​

7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.​

​

21 And all flesh died that moved on [c]the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath [d]of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.​

Noah, 3 sons and all 4 wives went into the ark. I don't see mention of brothers in verse 7. All flesh, including every man died. Dead. Noah's brothers are dead. "Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive." Noah's brothers were not on the ark. So they did not remain alive. They died.

And to stress: 15 cubits is about 20 feet roughly. I didn't look it up, but I think the mountains in Noah's part of the world are higher than 20 feet.

(And the only reason I'm being soooo obtuse is because of all the bold and color and emphasis on how right you think you are.)

 

[BlessedAnomaly]

Where did the water go? This question is sometimes asked by those who don’t believe there was a worldwide flood. They think such a flood is impossible because there would be no place for the water to go after the flood was over. But there is a simple answer to this question. The water didn’t go anywhere; the flood ended when parts of the earth’s surface rose up to form the continents and islands that exist today.

A simple answer to "where did the water go?" would be: where did it come from? It went back there.

Obviously it either existed or was created for the flood. The bible says that God rested on the seventh day: he was finished creating is the common understanding. So the water for the flood, by implication, existed.

Therefore, I say that it went back from whence it came.

Whatever this means as far as a local flood, a flood that covered the "known" world, a flood that covered the entire planet, etc., is moot. What we need to know from this is that 8 people went into an ark with sevens and twos of various animals. All else died in the flood. So what came off the ark when God pulled the waters back to whence they came, is where we start over.

-----
notes: seeing this is the Secular forum, having this discussion in the context of biblical events means that we are establishing and discussing from a biblical point of view. So my answer here was purely set there.

 

[J regia]

Wow. He quotes scripture and he is wrong?? How ignorant.

A cubit is a foot and a half (well technically it is the measure from the elbow to the tip of the longest finger -- amounts to about 17.5 to 21 inches). Fifteen of them wouldn't cover my house. So you infer that my house is higher than the mountains around me?? How ignorant.

You point to Noah's brothers in chapter 4. But the flood is in chapter 7.

Genesis 7:7; 21-23 (NET)​

7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.​

​

21 And all flesh died that moved on [c]the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath [d]of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.​

Noah, 3 sons and all 4 wives went into the ark. I don't see mention of brothers in verse 7. All flesh, including every man died. Dead. Noah's brothers are dead. "Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive." Noah's brothers were not on the ark. So they did not remain alive. They died.

And to stress: 15 cubits is about 20 feet roughly. I didn't look it up, but I think the mountains in Noah's part of the world are higher than 20 feet.

(And the only reason I'm being soooo obtuse is because of all the bold and color and emphasis on how right you think you are.)

None of that changes the fact that the KJV and the Hebrew bible say that the flood which drowned most of Noah's family and their sheep and goats was only 15 cubits high and drained away like every other similar flood before and since. And the highest hills in the flooded area were therefore less than 15 cubits above the normal river height when not in flood. And it DOES NOT say that Mt Everest was covered by over 15 cubits as falsely claimed by some.
Genesis 7:20 KJV -
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail;
and the mountains were covered

Which is why it had no effect on the olive tree which was growing outside the flooded area (Gen 8:11).
Nor did it affect Noah's brothers (Jabal & Jubal) and their families who were living outside the flooded area and are the fathers of all tent dwellers and herders and harpists and flutists, whereas Noah only built a wooden boat (Gen 4:20-21).
Nor did it have any effect on kangaroos or sloths since they are not native to the middle east, nor on our aborigines who arrived here over 50,000 years before Adam's grandmother was a girl.

 

[SteveB]

Where did the water go? This question is sometimes asked by those who don’t believe there was a worldwide flood. They think such a flood is impossible because there would be no place for the water to go after the flood was over. But there is a simple answer to this question. The water didn’t go anywhere; the flood ended when parts of the earth’s surface rose up to form the continents and islands that exist today.



We can understand this better if we look at where the water came from in the first place. The answer to this is found in Genesis 7:11,12.



There were two sources of water. One was rain, which fell for 40 days and 40 nights. But not all of the water was the result of rain. “The fountains of the great deep burst forth.” The earth broke open so that water that had been trapped underneath came to the surface and covered the earth completely. Whatever force broke open the surface of the earth continued to operate and made parts of the earth rise up above the surface of the water and thus ended the flood it had begun.

Some people answer the question of where the water went by saying that the flood wasn’t really worldwide but only covered part of the flood. This explanation certainly solves the problem of where the water went but it creates two new ones. Genesis 9:8-17 says:



God made a covenant with Noah and promised that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood. But there have been many floods since then, many of them covering large areas and killing many people. If this flood wasn’t worldwide then God has often broken the covenant. So we must believe one of two things: either the flood covered the whole world or God can’t be relied on to keep his promises.

But we need to also consider the sign of the covenant; God set a rainbow in the clouds. This speaks of the rainbow as being something new that hadn’t existed before. This means that before the flood atmospheric conditions were very different from what they are today and rainbows never appeared. A change like this couldn’t possible be local but must be worldwide.

Here.

New Evidence for Oceans of Water Deep in the Earth

Based in part on studies at Brookhaven Lab's National Synchrotron Light Source, researchers from Northwestern University and the University of New Mexico report evidence for the ingredients of water bound up in rock deep in Earth's mantle.

www.bnl.gov

There are numerous articles available that discuss how that there are several oceans worth of water stored in the mantle of the earth.

I've read other articles about it and have been wondering if the planet's topography was different then too.

Genesis clearly stated that "the fountains of the deep were broken up", so a major cataclysm of geologic conditions took place.
There have been discussions that with only a few hundred to thousands of people, having tectonic plate shifting would not have been a problem in injuring people by shifting the continental structures.
All that was necessary would be to get people to spread out on the earth.

The confusion of the languages handled that.

Have you ever heard of Answer's in Genesis video series on the new history of planet earth?

It's 25 videos, so it's rather lengthy. But the primary speaker is a Dr Nathaniel Jeanson. He's been involved in a genetic research project analyzing the genetic distribution of people throughout the world. I think I am at video #15 and I've been enjoying it immensely.

Have fun.

 

[J regia]

Here.

New Evidence for Oceans of Water Deep in the Earth

Based in part on studies at Brookhaven Lab's National Synchrotron Light Source, researchers from Northwestern University and the University of New Mexico report evidence for the ingredients of water bound up in rock deep in Earth's mantle.

www.bnl.gov

There are numerous articles available that discuss how that there are several oceans worth of water stored in the mantle of the earth.

I've read other articles about it and have been wondering if the planet's topography was different then too.

Genesis clearly stated that "the fountains of the deep were broken up", so a major cataclysm of geologic conditions took place.
There have been discussions that with only a few hundred to thousands of people, having tectonic plate shifting would not have been a problem in injuring people by shifting the continental structures.
All that was necessary would be to get people to spread out on the earth.

The confusion of the languages handled that.

Have you ever heard of Answer's in Genesis video series on the new history of planet earth?

It's 25 videos, so it's rather lengthy. But the primary speaker is a Dr Nathaniel Jeanson. He's been involved in a genetic research project analyzing the genetic distribution of people throughout the world. I think I am at video #15 and I've been enjoying it immensely.

Have fun.

And are these oceans of water in the mantle stored at temperatures more than 1000 degrees or less than 1000 degrees? Or are those videos just pure fantasy?

Earth's mantle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Either way, the bible clearly says that the flood which drowned most of Noah's family was just a local event since it was only 15 cubits high.
Which is why it had no effect on the olive tree from which Noah's pet bird plucked a leaf since it was growing outside the flooded area.
And why it had no effect on Noah's brothers (Jabal & Jubal) and their families (Gen 4:20-21).

 

[puddleglum]

the bible clearly says that the flood which drowned most of Noah's family was just a local event

If it was just local why would Noah have to build an ark? It would have been easier for him and his family to simply travel outside of the area that was to be flooded and there would have been no need to take animals to preserve them from extinction.

Was the Noahic flood global?

Was the Noahic flood global? Is it possible that the flood in Noah's time was only local, not global? Is there evidence for a global flood?

www.compellingtruth.org

 

[J regia]

If it was just local why would Noah have to build an ark? It would have been easier for him and his family to simply travel outside of the area that was to be flooded and there would have been no need to take animals to preserve them from extinction.

It's just an imaginative story in a book about a local flood which drowned most of Noah's family and their sheep and goats, but had no effect on a nearby olive tree (Gen 8:11) and Noah's brothers (Jabal & Jubal) and their families (Gen 4:20-21). And why it had no affect on kangaroos or sloths, or on our aborigines who arrived over 50,000 years before Adam's grandmother was a girl.

And it's your choice if you don't believe what the bible actually says and just make up your own fantasy story which has not a skerrick of evidence to support it.

 

[SteveB]

And are these oceans of water in the mantle stored at temperatures more than 1000 degrees or less than 1000 degrees? Or are those videos just pure fantasy?

Earth's mantle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So, I provide you with a brookhaven laboratory website article-- written by scientists--- and you respond with a Wikipedia article?
Seriously? 🤦🏾‍♂️🙄

Either way, the bible clearly says that the flood which drowned most of Noah's family was just a local event since it was only 15 cubits high.

15 cubits over the highest mountains.

20Fifteen cubits above did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered up.

I have a question for you.

If the flood was only 45 feet deep, that would leave all the mountains uncovered and plenty of places for people and animals to flee for safety.
Do you actually expect me to believe that people were too stupid to figure that out and drowned because of their stupidity?

21And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, among the fowl, and among the cattle, and among the beasts, and among all creeping creatures that creep upon the earth and all mankind.
22Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils, of all that were on the dry land, died.
23And it [the Flood] blotted out all beings that were upon the face of the earth, from man to animal to creeping thing and to the fowl of the heavens, and they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark survived.

I think it's more likely that you really need to learn to understand what you're talking about.

Which is why it had no effect on the olive tree from which Noah's pet bird plucked a leaf since it was growing outside the flooded area.
And why it had no effect on Noah's brothers (Jabal & Jubal) and their families (Gen 4:20-21).

Curious how the bible says that after a period of time the waters began to abate, and plant life began to return.

21And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, among the fowl, and among the cattle, and among the beasts, and among all creeping creatures that creep upon the earth and all mankind.
22Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils, of all that were on the dry land, died.
23And it [the Flood] blotted out all beings that were upon the face of the earth, from man to animal to creeping thing and to the fowl of the heavens, and they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark survived.

 

[J regia]

So, I provide you with a brookhaven laboratory website article-- written by scientists--- and you respond with a Wikipedia article?
Seriously? 🤦🏾‍♂️🙄

Have you been to those oceans of water in the Earth's mantle and if so have you swum in them with temperatures over 1000 degrees? Or is that story just an imaginative fantasy?

15 cubits over the highest mountains.

20Fifteen cubits above did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered up.

I have a question for you.

If the flood was only 45 feet deep, that would leave all the mountains uncovered and plenty of places for people and animals to flee for safety.
Do you actually expect me to believe that people were too stupid to figure that out and drowned because of their stupidity?

21And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, among the fowl, and among the cattle, and among the beasts, and among all creeping creatures that creep upon the earth and all mankind.
22Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils, of all that were on the dry land, died.
23And it [the Flood] blotted out all beings that were upon the face of the earth, from man to animal to creeping thing and to the fowl of the heavens, and they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark survived.

I think it's more likely that you really need to learn to understand what you're talking about.


Curious how the bible says that after a period of time the waters began to abate, and plant life began to return.

21And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, among the fowl, and among the cattle, and among the beasts, and among all creeping creatures that creep upon the earth and all mankind.
22Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils, of all that were on the dry land, died.
23And it [the Flood] blotted out all beings that were upon the face of the earth, from man to animal to creeping thing and to the fowl of the heavens, and they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark survived.

WRONG!!!
The KJV and the Hebrew bible both say that the flood was only 15 cubits high and drained away like every other similar flood before and since. And does not say that Mt Everest was covered by 15 cubits as you falsely claim.
Genesis 7:20 KJV -
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail;
and the mountains were covered

Which is why a nearby olive tree was unaffected (Gen 8:11) as well as Noah's brothers (Jabal & Jubal) and their families (Gen 4:20-21).

If you don't believe what the bible actually says, then what evidence do you have to support your claim that the ocean level magically rose at the rate of SIX INCHES PER MINUTE for 40 days less than 4000 years ago when an extra 4.5 billion cubic kilometres of water magically appeared and disappeared, given there is less than 1.4 cubic kilometres of water on Earth including your subterranean oceans of water at temperatures over 1000 degrees?

 

[SteveB]

Have you been to those oceans of water in the Earth's mantle and if so have you swum in them with temperatures over 1000 degrees? Or is that story just an imaginative fantasy?

So you actually think that science is fantasy.
That's good to know.
Thank you for clarifying this.

WRONG!!!
The KJV and the Hebrew bible both say that the flood was only 15 cubits high and drained away like every other similar flood before and since. And does not say that Mt Everest was covered by 15 cubits as you falsely claim.
Genesis 7:20 KJV -
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail;
and the mountains were covered

Which is why a nearby olive tree was unaffected (Gen 8:11) as well as Noah's brothers (Jabal & Jubal) and their families (Gen 4:20-21).

If you don't believe what the bible actually says, then what evidence do you have to support your claim that the ocean level magically rose at the rate of SIX INCHES PER MINUTE for 40 days less than 4000 years ago when an extra 4.5 billion cubic kilometres of water magically appeared and disappeared, given there is less than 1.4 cubic kilometres of water on Earth including your subterranean oceans of water at temperatures over 1000 degrees?

So you actually do believe that the people and animals were that stupid.
I gave you the quote from the Chabad (orthodox Hebrew bible) bible.

 

[The Pixie]

Here.

New Evidence for Oceans of Water Deep in the Earth

Based in part on studies at Brookhaven Lab's National Synchrotron Light Source, researchers from Northwestern University and the University of New Mexico report evidence for the ingredients of water bound up in rock deep in Earth's mantle.

www.bnl.gov

There are numerous articles available that discuss how that there are several oceans worth of water stored in the mantle of the earth.

It is important to realise that this is not free water in caverns, but water that is forming a loose chemical bond to the rocks. Quoting your paper:

Though not in the familiar liquid form — the ingredients for water are bound up in rock deep in the Earth's mantle — the discovery may represent the planet's largest water reservoir.​

The caption for the image:

A blue crystal of ringwoodite containing around one percent of H2O in its crystal structure is compressed to conditions of 700 km depth inside a diamond-anvil cell. Using a laser to heat the sample to temperatures over 1500C (orange spots), the ringwoodite transformed to minerals found in the lowermost mantle.​

This answers J regia's question - the water is around 1500degC - but also shows that this is water incorporated inside the rock, rather than in liquid form.

 

[J regia]

So you actually think that science is fantasy.
That's good to know.
Thank you for clarifying this.

Did you actually read that article which is about -OH radicals and not H2O, or did you just read the fancy headline about "oceans" of super heated subterranean water,

So you actually do believe that the people and animals were that stupid.
I gave you the quote from the Chabad (orthodox Hebrew bible) bible.

Doesn't change the fact that the KJV and the Hebrew bible both say that the flood was only 15 cubits high and therefore just a local event. Which is why the olive tree was unaffected (Gen 8:11) and Noah's brothers (Jabal & Jubal) and their families were not drowned with the rest of Noah's family (Gen 4:20-21).
But it's your choice if you don't believe what the bible actually says and just make up your own fantasies