What does Genesis 7:10 mean?
Finally, the flood begins. It comes at exactly the time God said it would in verse 4. God's destruction of life on the earth, and the salvation of life from that destruction, has begun.Here, as in prior verses, the flood is said to come on "the earth," using the Hebrew term 'erets. This term is often used in a local or regional sense. The Bible uses a different Hebrew word, tebel, when specifically referring to the entire planet. This, along with a few other aspects of the language used, leads some Bible scholars to interpret this as a local flood. In other words, an event covering the regions inhabited by mankind, but not necessarily the entire planet. Since the intent is the destruction of sinful man (Genesis 6:5), this ultimately makes little difference as far as the story of the flood itself is concerned. God judges mankind with the flood, and only Noah and his family survive (Genesis 6:18).
It's interesting to notice that God continues to operate within the seven-day cycle He established when He created the earth. Noah will adhere to a seven-day cycle when sending out the birds to look for dry land in chapter 8. Israel, too, will conform to God's seven-day cycle when the nation is established later in the book of Genesis.
Genesis 7:1–10 confirms that Noah fulfilled all that he was commanded in chapter 6. In addition to the two pairs of all animals, Noah is also told to bring seven (total) pairs of ''clean'' animals, most likely for sacrificial purposes. God gives Noah a last-minute warning of the coming flood. As the preparations are completed, the great catastrophe occurs, just as God said it would. The next passage describes the colossal event.
Genesis 7 tells the story of the actual flood itself. God again commends Noah for his righteousness. The animals of every kind come to the ark. God shuts Noah and his family and the animals in, and it begins to rain. Water pours from above and bursts forth from below with incredible intensity. This outpouring of water lasts for 40 days, and covers the surface of the earth for another 110 days. The ark floats, rises, moves across the surface of the water. Outside of it, every land-dwelling, air-breathing thing dies. God wipes it all out, including every human being other than Noah and his family.
