It’s fascinating to dive into the details, and Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, does just that.
(Genesis 8:13) tells us, "It was in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water began to dry from upon the earth; Noah removed the cover of the ark, and he saw, and behold, the surface of the ground had begun to dry." So, when did the whole ordeal actually begin?
Well, according to Bereshit Rabbah, the judgment of the Flood generation lasted a full twelve months. It all started on the seventeenth day of the second month, as we read in (Genesis 7:11), and wrapped up on the twenty-seventh of the second month the following year (Genesis 8:14). That's quite a long voyage!
Let’s break down the timeline even further. (Genesis 7:11) states, "In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month…on the seventeenth day of the month." The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) specifies that this second month is Marḥeshvan, often shortened to Cheshvan – placing us in the autumn. Then, (Genesis 7:12) says, "The rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights." That would take us through the remainder of Marḥeshvan and almost all of Kislev. Imagine the constant downpour!
But the rain wasn’t the end of it. (Genesis 7:24) tells us, "The water accumulated upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days." That accounts for the months of Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nisan, and Iyar. The waters just kept rising and rising. Finally, the Midrash tells us, at the beginning of Sivan, the water began to recede.
And when did the Ark find its resting place? (Genesis 8:4) states, "The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." The Midrash clarifies that this "seventh month" is Sivan, counting from the cessation of the rain. Why not Nisan, which is the seventh month from Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year? Because the accumulation of water continued into Iyar, as we just saw.
For sixteen long days, the water receded, at a rate of one cubit – an ancient measurement roughly equivalent to the length of your forearm – every four days. The earth was submerged, so the Ark was initially eleven cubits underwater. Eventually, after sixty days, the waters fully receded. This brings us to the tenth month – Av – counting from the start of the rain.
Now, here's a curious detail. The text repeats that the earth "dried up" not once, but twice (8:13-14). Bereshit Rabbah offers an explanation: First, the earth was merely "like a soaking wet object." Then, later, it became "like completely dry land." But even then, something wasn't quite right. They tried to sow seeds, but nothing grew. Why? Because the water, remnant of the Flood, represented a curse. Blessing couldn't come from a place of curse. They had to wait for fresh rain to fall before they could sow again.
There's another interesting point about the timing. Why does Genesis say the earth dried on the twenty-seventh of the second month, instead of the sixteenth? If it were the sixteenth, the Flood would have lasted exactly one year! The Midrash explains that those extra eleven days account for the difference between the solar year and the lunar year. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel even suggested a way to observe this difference: mark the sun's position on a wall during the summer month of Tamuz. The following year, at the same time, the sun won't reach that mark until eleven days later.
So, what does this all mean? It's more than just a historical timeline. It reveals the meticulous way the rabbis of the Midrash engaged with the text, seeking to understand not just what happened, but why, and how the events connect to broader patterns in the world. It prompts us to consider the relationship between judgment and renewal, curse and blessing, and the cyclical nature of time itself. Perhaps Noah's journey, with all its trials and tribulations, offers a timeless lesson about patience, perseverance, and the promise of a new beginning.
“It was in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water began to dry from upon the earth; Noah removed the cover of the ark, and he saw, and behold, the surface of the ground had begun to dry” (Genesis 8:13). “It was in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month” – we learned: The judgment of the generation of the Flood lasted twelve months.51It began on the seventeenth day of the second month (Genesis 7:11), and ended on the twenty-seventh of the second month the following year (Genesis 8:14). How [did it progress]? “In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month,52That being Marḥeshvan. on the seventeenth day of the month” (Genesis 7:11); and it is written: “The rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:12) – that is [the remainder of] Marḥeshvan and [nearly all of] Kislev. “The water accumulated upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days” (Genesis 7:24) – that accounts for Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nisan, and Iyar.53And the following day, at the beginning of Sivan, the water began to recede. “The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4) – this refers to Sivan, which was the seventh [month counting] from the cessation of the rain.54It cannot be referring to Nisan, which is the actual seventh month counting from Rosh HaShana, because the accumulation continued into Iyar, as explained previously. For sixteen days the water receded, one cubit every four days,55The water began to recede on the first of Sivan, as explained previously, and reached ground level on the first of Av, as the Midrash mentions later, for a total of sixty days of recession. The water was fifteen cubits deep (Genesis 7:20). The recession of the water, then, took place at the rate of one cubit per four days. being one and a half handbreadths per day.56There are six handbreadths in a cubit. You thus come to the conclusion that the ark was submerged eleven cubits into the water.57Since the water began receding on the first of Sivan, and the bottom of the ark touched ground sixteen days later, when the water had gone down to a height of eleven cubits. And it [the water] receded completely over the course of sixty days. That is what is written: “The water gradually receded until the tenth month” (Genesis 8:5) – this is Av, which is the tenth [month counting] from the falling of the rain. Another interpretation:58The midrash is addressing the fact that Scripture states twice that the wetness dried up (8:13–14). “It was in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water began to dry from upon the earth” – it [the earth] became like a soaking wet object. “And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth dried” (Genesis 8:14) – it became like completely dry land. They sowed it, but it did not grow anything. Why? Because it59The moisture in the ground. represented a curse,60The water in the soil, which was leftover from the Flood, was cursed water. and that which represents a curse cannot bring about blessing. So they waited until rain fell, and they sowed [again]. The verse should have rather said: “And on the sixteenth day of the second month, the earth dried.”61That would have made the duration of the Flood exactly one year long, as it began on the seventeenth of the second month in the previous year. Why, then, does the verse state: And on the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth dried” (Genesis 8:14)? These [extra days] were the eleven days that the solar year is longer than the lunar year.62A solar year is 365 days, whereas twelve lunar months add up to 354 days. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Anyone who wishes to ascertain that the solar cycle is eleven days longer than the lunar cycle, let him make a scratch on the wall [where the sun reaches at a given time of day] during the season of Tamuz.63Summer The next year at the same time, the sun will not reach that point until eleven days later. From this you can ascertain that the solar cycle is eleven days longer than the lunar cycle.
