SEV Biblia, Chapter 7:11
¶ El año seiscientos de la vida de Noé, en el mes segundo a los diecisiete días del mes; aquel día fueron rotas todas las fuentes del grande abismo, y las ventanas de los cielos fueron abiertas;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Genesis 7:11
Verse 11. In the six hundredth year, &c.] This must have been in the beginning of the six hundredth year of his life; for he was a year in the ark, chap. viii. 13; and lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, and died nine hundred and fifty years old, chap. ix. 29; so it is evident that, when the flood commenced, he had just entered on his six hundredth year. Second month] The first month was Tisri, which answers to the latter half of September, and first half of October; and the second was Mareheshvan, which answers to part of October and part of November. After the deliverance from Egypt, the beginning of the year was changed from Marcheshvan to Nisan, which answers to a part of our March and April. But it is not likely that this reckoning obtained before the flood. Dr. Lightfoot very probably conjectures that Methuselah was alive in the first month of this year. And it appears, says he, how clearly the Spirit of prophecy foretold of things to come, when it directed his father Enoch almost a thousand years before to name him Methuselah, which signifies they die by a dart; or, he dieth, and then is the dart; or, he dieth, end then it is sent. And thus Adam and Methuselah had measured the whole time between the creation and the flood, and lived above two hundred and forty years together. See chap. v. at the end. Were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.] It appears that an immense quantity of waters occupied the center of the antediluvian earth; and as these burst forth, by the order of God, the circumambient strata must sink, in order to fill up the vacuum occasioned by the elevated waters. This is probably what is meant by breaking up the fountains of the great deep. These waters, with the seas on the earth's surface, might be deemed sufficient to drown the whole globe, as the waters now on its surface are nearly three-fourths of the whole, as has been accurately ascertained by Dr. Long. See note on ""chap. i. 10"".
By the opening of the windows of heaven is probably meant the precipitating all the aqueous vapours which were suspended in the whole atmosphere, so that, as Moses expresses it, chap. i. 7, the waters that were above the firmament were again united to the waters which were below the firmament, from which on the second day of creation they had been separated. A multitude of facts have proved that water itself is composed of two airs, oxygen and hydrogen; and that 85 parts of the first and 15 of the last, making 100 in the whole, will produce exactly 100 parts of water. And thus it is found that these two airs form the constituent parts of water in the above proportions. The electric spark, which is the same as lightning, passing through these airs, decomposes them and converts them to water. And to this cause we may probably attribute the rain which immediately follows the flash of lightning and peal of thunder. God therefore, by the means of lightning, might have converted the whole atmosphere into water, for the purpose of drowning the globe, had there not been a sufficiency of merely aqueous vapours suspended in the atmosphere on the second day of creation. And if the electric fluid were used on this occasion for the production of water, the incessant glare of lightning, and the continual peals of thunder, must have added indescribable horrors to the scene. See the note on ""chap. viii. 1"". These two causes concurring were amply sufficient, not only to overflow the earth, but probably to dissolve the whole terrene fabric, as some judicious naturalists have supposed: indeed, this seems determined by the word lwbm mabbul, translated flood, which is derived from lb bal llb or balal, to mix, mingle, confound, confuse, because the aqueous and terrene parts of the globe were then mixed and confounded together; and when the supernatural cause that produced this mighty change suspended its operations, the different particles of matter would settle according to their specific gravities, and thus form the various strata or beds of which the earth appears to be internally constructed. Some naturalists have controverted this sentiment, because in some cases the internal structure of the earth does not appear to justify the opinion that the various portions of matter had settled according to their specific gravities; but these anomalies may easily be accounted for, from the great changes that have taken place in different parts of the earth since the flood, by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, &c. Some very eminent philosophers are of the opinion ""that, by the breaking up of the fountains of the great deep, we are to understand an eruption of waters from the Southern Ocean."" Mr. Kirwan supposes ""that this is pretty evident from such animals as the elephant and rhinoceros being found in great masses in Siberia, mixed with different marine substances; whereas no animals or other substances belonging to the northern regions have been ever found in southern climates. Had these animals died natural deaths in their proper climate, their bodies would not have been found in such masses. But that they were carried no farther northward than Siberia, is evident from there being no remains of any animals besides those of whales found in the mountains of Greenland. That this great rush of waters was from the south or south-east is farther evident, he thinks, from the south and south-east sides of almost all great mountains being much steeper than their north or north- west sides, as they necessarily would be if the force of a great body of water fell upon them in that direction."" On a subject like this men may innocently differ. Many think the first opinion accords best with the Hebrew text and with the phenomena of nature, for mountains do not always present the above appearance.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-12 - The call to Noah is very kind, like that of a tender father to his children to come in-doors when he sees night or a storm coming. Noa did not go into the ark till God bade him, though he knew it was to be his place of refuge. It is very comfortable to see God going before u in every step we take. Noah had taken a great deal of pains to buil the ark, and now he was himself kept alive in it. What we do in obedience to the command of God, and in faith, we ourselves shal certainly have the comfort of, first or last. This call to Noah remind us of the call the gospel gives to poor sinners. Christ is an ark, in whom alone we can be safe, when death and judgment approach. The wor says, "Come;" ministers say, "Come;" the Spirit says, "Come, come int the Ark." Noah was accounted righteous, not for his own righteousness but as an heir of the righteousness which is by faith, Heb 11:7. He believed the revelation of a saviour, and sought and expected salvatio through Him alone. Thus was he justified by faith, and received tha Spirit whose fruit is in all goodness; but if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. After the hundred and twent years, God granted seven days' longer space for repentance. But thes seven days were trifled away, like all the rest. It shall be but seve days. They had only one week more, one sabbath more to improve, and to consider the things that belonged to their peace. But it is common for those who have been careless of their souls during the years of their health, when they have looked upon death at a distance, to be a careless during the days, the few days of their sickness, when they se death approaching; their hearts being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. As Noah prepared the ark by faith in the warning given that the flood would come, so he went into it, by faith in this warning that is would come quickly. And on the day Noah was securely fixed in the ark the fountains of the great deep were broken up. The earth had within it those waters, which, at God's command, sprang up and flooded it; an thus our bodies have in themselves those humours, which, when God pleases, become the seeds and springs of mortal diseases. The window of heaven were opened, and the waters which were above the firmament that is, in the air, were poured out upon the earth. The rain come down in drops; but such rains fell then, as were never known before of since. It rained without stop or abatement, forty days and fort nights, upon the whole earth at once. As there was a peculiar exercis of the almighty power of God in causing the flood, it is vain an presumptuous to attempt explaining the method of it, by human wisdom.
Original Hebrew
בשׁנת 8141 שׁשׁ 8337 מאות 3967 שׁנה 8141 לחיי 2416 נח 5146 בחדשׁ 2320 השׁני 8145 בשׁבעה 7651 עשׂר 6240 יום 3117 לחדשׁ 2320 ביום 3117 הזה 2088 נבקעו 1234 כל 3605 מעינות 4599 תהום 8415 רבה 7227 וארבת 699 השׁמים 8064 נפתחו׃ 6605
