Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Genesis 7:1-3

But a deeper meaning leads us to believe that the strength of the mind in the soul and the soul in the body is what the father of a family is in his house. What the mind is in the soul, the soul is in the body. If the mind is certain, the house is safe; the soul is safe if the soul is uninjured; the flesh also is uninjured. A temperate mind restrains every passion, controls the senses, rules the words. Therefore God justly says to the righteous, “Go into,” that is, go into yourself, into your mind, in the ruling part of your soul. Salvation is there, the rudder is there; outside the deluge rages, outside there is danger. In truth if you have been inside, you are safe outside too, because when the mind is the straightforward guide of the self, the thoughts are righteous, the actions are righteous. If no vice obscures the mind, the thoughts are trustworthy.

Source: ON NOAH 11.38

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Genesis 7:1-3

Let us see now why it was ordered that seven males and seven females of clean animals and two males and two females of unclean ones were received into the ark, so that the seed all over the earth might be nourished. And, as I believe, it is said that a clean week begins, since pure and holy is number seven. In fact it is united to no number and generated by no number. Therefore it is said to be virgin, because it generates nothing from itself, and we may add that this is said with good reason, since it is lacking and immune from maternal childbirth and from intercourse with female. The number two, on the other hand, is not full because it is divided; and what is not full has some void in itself. But the number seven is full, because the week is like the decade and is similar to that principal number, because the alpha is similar to that One who always exists. From him the virtues that are in every species take their origin, and by him they are moved.

Source: ON NOAH 12.39

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 7:1-3

Let us recognize that the ark prefigured the church. Let us be the clean beasts in it. Yet let us not refuse to allow the unclean ones to be carried in it with us until the end of the deluge. They were together in the ark, but they were not equally pleasing to the Lord as a savor of sacrifice, for after the deluge, Noah offered sacrifice to God of the clean, not of the unclean. But the ark was not on that account abandoned before the time by any of the clean because of the unclean.

Source: LETTERS 108

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 7:1-3

By this prefiguration it is prophesied that in the church there will be the impure by reason of tolerance, not because of corruption of doctrine or dissolution of discipline. Furthermore, the unclean animals did not break their way into the ark through any part of the structure, but because the ark was an integral whole, they entered by the one and only entrance that the architect had made.

Source: FAITH AND WORKS 27.49

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:1

Noah did therefore all that God commanded him, and the Lord said to him: Enter you and all your household into the ark, etc. Noah did all that God commanded, that is, he built the ark, and, with chambers arranged, he brought provisions into it for all living creatures.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 50] Philo of Alexandria on Genesis 7:2

(12) Why does he order seven of each of the clean animals, male and female, to be taken into the ark, but of the unclean animals only two, male and female, in order to preserve seed upon all the earth? (#Ge 7:2). By divine ordinance he has asserted the number seven to be clean, and the number two to be unclean; since the number seven is clean by nature, inasmuch as that is a virgin number, free from all admixture, and without any parent. Nor does it generate any thing, nor is it generated, as each of those numbers which are below the number ten, on account of their similitude to the unit, because it is uncreated and unbegotten, and nothing is generated by it, although it is itself the cause of creation and generation; because it rouses the virtues of all things which are well-arranged, for the generation of created beings. But the number two is not clean. In the first place, because it is empty, not solid; and because it is not full, therefore neither is it clean; because it is likewise the beginning of infinite immensity by reason of its materiality. It also labours under inequality on account of the other long numbers; for all the other numbers after two which are increased in a twofold proportion are long numbers. But that which is unequal is not clean, as neither is that which is material; but that which proceeds from such is fallible and inelegant, being destitute of the purity of reason to conduct it to completeness and perfection; and it conducts it to such by its own intrinsic power, and by songs of harmony and equality. This is enough to say on the physical part of the subject; it remains for us to speak of its moral bearings. The irrational parts of our soul which are destitute of intellect are divided into seven; that is to say, into the five senses, and the vocal organ, and the seminal organ. Now these in a man endued with virtue are all clean, and by nature feminine, inasmuch as they belong to the irrational species; but to a man who has come into full possession of his inheritance they are masculine; for men endued with virtue are also the parents of the virtue of counsel to themselves, the best part of them not permitting them to come to the external senses in a precipitate and unbridled manner, but repressing them and leading them back to right reason. But in the wicked man there exists a twofold wickedness; since the injust man is full of doubts and perplexities, as a hesitating person, mingling things which ought not to be mixed, and connecting them with one another, confounding those things which may very easily be kept separate. Such are those passions which imbue the soul with some particular colour, like a man spotted and leprous in body, the originally sound counsel being infected and contaminated by that which is destructive and fatal. But the principle of the entrance and of the custody of animals is added in a natural manner; for he says, "for the sake of nourishing seed." If we take the expression according to the letter, inasmuch as, although particular individuals may be destroyed, still at least a race is preserved to be the seed of future generations; forsooth that the intention of God, conceived at the formation of the world, might remain for ever and ever unextinguishable, the different races of creatures being preserved. But if we regard the inward meaning of the words, it is necessary that in the irrational parts of the soul, likewise, there should be motions which are clean, as certain seminal principles, although the animals themselves are not clean; since the nature of mankind is capable of admitting contrarieties, for instance, virtue and wickedness; each of which he delineated at the creation of the world, by the tree bearing the name of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Forsooth our intellect, in which there is both knowledge and intelligence, comprehends both good and evil; but good is akin to the number seven, and evil is the brother of duality. Moreover, the law of wisdom, which abounds in beauty, says expressly and carefully, that seed is to be nourished, not in one place only, but in all the earth, both naturally, in the first instance, and also morally, in its peculiar sense; because it is very natural, and suitable to the character of God, to cause that which in all parts and divisions of the world is said again to be the seed of living beings, to fill places which have been evacuated a second time with similar creatures, by a repeated generation; and not altogether to desert our body, inasmuch as it is an earthly substance, as if it were a thing deserted by and void of all principle of life. Since, if we practise the drinking of wines and the eating of meats, and indulge in the ardent desire of the female, and in short practise in all things a delicate and luxurious life, we are then only the bearers of a corpse in the body; but if God, taking compassion on us, turns away the overflow of vices and renders the soul dry, he will then begin to make the body living, and to animate it with a purer soul, the governing principle of which is wisdom.

Source: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, II

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:2

Of all clean animals, take seven and seven, male and female; but of animals that are not clean, two and two, male and female; of the birds of the heaven also, seven and seven, male and female, so that seed might be saved upon the face of all the earth. When he said seven and seven, he does not mean twice seven in each species, but he wants seven only to be taken, of which one, which exceeded the pairs, could be offered to God after the flood. He says seven and seven, because of the many kinds of animals which were to be included in this number. Similarly, when he said two and two, he does not mean two pairs in any species of unclean animals, but only two, indicating the male and female. He says two and two, because in many kinds of animals the same pairs were to be taken; it is easily clear to everyone that if the matter were only for saving the kind and not for some higher mystery, a smaller number of animals would suffice to preserve the progeny; now, however, because not all who undergo the baptismal cleansing in the Church also maintain the purity of good works, unclean animals enter the ark along with the clean ones. And rightly are the clean animals contained by the number seven, because the grace of the Spirit is sevenfold, by which the hearts of the faithful are cleansed and sanctified. The unclean are contained by the number two, because false Catholics receive the sacraments of the faith with a double heart, wishing to rejoice here with the world, and to reign in the future with Christ; of whom James says: That man should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord, a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:7).

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 7:4-5

God granted one hundred years while the ark was being made to that generation, and still they did not repent. God summoned beasts that they had never seen and still they showed no remorse. He established a state of peace between the predatory animals and those who are preyed upon, and still they had no awe. God delayed yet seven more days for them, even after Noah and every creature had entered the ark, leaving the gate of the ark open to them. This is a wondrous thing that no lion remembered its jungle and no species of beast or bird visited its customary haunt! Although those of that generation saw all that went on outside and inside the ark, they were still not persuaded to renounce their evil deeds.

Source: COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.10.2

[AD 235] Hippolytus of Rome on Genesis 7:6

Hippolytus, the Syrian expositor of the Targum, has said: We find in an ancient Hebrew copy that God commanded Noah to range the wild beasts in order in the lower floor or storey, and to separate the males from the females by putting wooden stakes between them.

And thus, too, he did with all the cattle, and also with the birds in the middle storey. And God ordered the males thus to be separated from the females for the sake of decency and purity, lest they should perchance get intermingled with each other.

Moreover, God said to Moses: Provide victuals for yourself and your children. And let them be of wheat, ground, pounded, kneaded with water, and dried. And Noah there and then bade his wife, and his sons' wives, diligently attend to kneading dough and laying it in the oven. They kneaded dough accordingly, and prepared just about as much as might be sufficient for them, so that nothing should remain over but the very least.

And God charged Noah, saying to him: Whosoever shall first announce to you the approach of the deluge, him you shall destroy that very moment. In the meantime, moreover, the wife of Cham was standing by, about to put a large piece of bread into the oven. And suddenly, according to the word of the Lord, water rushed forth from the oven, and the flow of water penetrated and destroyed the bread. Therefore the wife of Cham exclaimed, addressing herself to Noah: Oh, sir, the word of God is come good: "that which God foretold is come to pass; "execute, therefore, that which the Lord commanded. And when Noah heard the words of the wife of Chain, he said to her: Is then the flood already come? The wife of Cham said to him: Thou hast said it. God, however, suddenly charged Noah, saying: Destroy not the wife of Cham; for from thy mouth is the beginning of destruction-"thou didst first say, The flood is come." At the voice of Noah the flood came, and suddenly the water destroyed that bread. And the floodgates of heaven were opened, and the rains broke upon the earth. And that same voice, in sooth, which had said of old, "Let the waters be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear," gave permission to the fountain of waters and the floods of the seas to break forth of their own accord, and brought out the waters.

Consider what God said about the world: Let all its high places be brought low, and they were brought low; and let its low places be raised from its depths.

And the earth was made bare and empty of all existence, as it was at the beginning.

And the rain descended from above, and the earth burst open beneath. And the frame of the earth was destroyed, and its primitive order was broken. And the world became such as it was when desolated at the beginning by the waters which flowed over it. Nor was any one of the existences upon it left in its integrity.

Its former structure went to wreck, and the earth was disfigured by the flood of waters that burst upon it, and by the magnitude of its inundations, and the multitude of showers, and the eruption from its depths, as the waters continually broke forth. In fine, it was left such as it was formerly.

Source: Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:6

Noah did everything the Lord had commanded him, and he was six hundred years old when the waters of the flood overflowed the earth. And Noah entered the ark, and his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, and so on. The age of Noah signifies the perfection of those who enter the Church and, through faith and actions worthy of faith, reach eternal joys. For six times a hundred makes six hundred; and the number six, in which the world was made or formed, not undeservingly signifies the perfection of good action. The number one hundred, moreover, as we mentioned above, is transferred in digital computation from the left to the right, and is especially appropriate for those who in the final judgment will stand on the Judge’s right hand and will hear: Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom (Matthew 25:34). Therefore, the number one hundred multiplied by six signifies that perfection of spiritual virtues which is not shown externally for the favor of men, but fulfilled for the glory of the Creator in the hope of heavenly reward; and justly, the leader of the ark, in which the state of the Church is expressed, in the time of his age also signifies the devotion of those who enter thus, that through the merits of good action they may also deserve to pass to eternal salvation. Although it can also be properly understood that since the waters of the flood designate the wave of baptism, the age of Noah then insinuates the perfection to which those who are baptized ought to strive. When it prefigures the time of the final judgment, the same number of his years figuratively announces what kind of people will enter everlasting rest with the Lord, which the name Noah means, that is, those worthy of heavenly entry by the effect of good work and purity of heart intention.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 386] Cyril of Jerusalem on Genesis 7:7-9

During the actual exorcism, while waiting for the others, let men be with men and women with women. For now I need Noah’s ark that I may have Noah and his sons together, separate from his wife and his sons’ wives. For although the ark was one and the door was closed, yet decorum was observed. So now, though the church doors are barred and you are all inside, let distinctions be kept: men with men, women with women. Let not the principle of salvation be made a pretext for spiritual license. Keeping close together is a good rule, provided that passion is kept at a distance.

Source: INTRODUCTORY LECTURE 14

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 7:7-9

Christ was also represented in Noah, and the world, in that ark. For why were all living creatures shut up in that ark except to signify all the nations? For God did not lack the capability of creating anew every species of living things. For when no creatures were in existence, did he not say, “Let the earth bring forth” and the earth brought forth? So from the same source as he made them then, he could remake them. God made them by a word, so God could remake them by a word.

Source: TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9.11.1

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 7:7-9

Was not Noah a holy man, who alone in the whole human race together with his whole house deserved to be delivered from the flood? And is not the church prefigured by Noah and his sons? They escape the flood, with wood (which symbolizes the cross) carrying them.

Source: TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 11.7.2

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Genesis 7:10-12

The fact, too, that he brought on the deluge for forty days and nights is a further wonderful sign of his loving kindness. His purpose in his great goodness was that at least some of them might come to their senses and escape that utter ruin, having before their eyes the annihilation of their peers and the destruction about to overwhelm them. I mean, the likelihood is that on the first day some proportion were drowned, an additional number on the second day, and likewise on the third day and so on. His reason for extending it for forty days was that he might remove from them any grounds for excuse. You see, had it been his wish and command, he could have submerged everything in one downpour. Instead, out of fidelity to his characteristic love he arranged for a stay of so many days.

Source: HOMILIES ON GENESIS 25.11

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 7:10-12

It is now time to examine the evidence that proves convincingly that the biblical years, so far from being only one-tenth as long as ours, were precisely as long as the present solar years. This is true of the years used in giving those extremely long life spans. It is said, for example, that the flood occurred in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life. But notice the full text: “The waters of the flood overflowed the earth in the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, in the twenty-seventh day of the month.” Now those words are inexplicable if a year was so short that it took ten of them to make one of ours. That would mean that a year had only thirty-six days. For so short a year (if it was actually called a year in ancient usage) either had no months at all, or if it had twelve months, then each month could have had but three days. How, then, [can we] explain the words of the text, “in the six hundredth year … in the second month, in the twenty-seventh day of the month,” unless the months then were the same as they are now? There is no other way of explaining how the flood could be said to have had a beginning on the twenty-seventh day of the second month.

Source: City of God 15.14

[AD 500] Salvian the Presbyter on Genesis 7:10-12

And then what? “All the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the flood gates of heaven were opened. And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” And a little later: “And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth.” And again, “And Noah only remained alive and they that were with him in the ark.” Here and now I wish to ask them who call God indifferent to human affairs whether they believe that at that time he either cared for earthly affairs or intervened in them.

Source: GOVERNANCE OF GOD 1.7

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:10

And when seven days had passed, the waters of the flood inundated the earth. The seventh day signifies the Sabbath, that is, the rest of future life. Therefore, since the flood signifies the water of baptism, aptly after seven days from when the ark was made it came, because we are baptized in the hope of perpetual rest. However, since the waves of temptations are represented by the waters of the flood, it is also fitting that they come after seven days, because for the sake of faith in the hope of future goods, the just suffer persecution from those who prefer earthly goods to heavenly ones, and the temporal to the everlasting. But indeed, since the flood is compared to the coming of the final judgment, it also fittingly inundates the earth after seven days, because then all the elect who have borne the gentle yoke of Christ and the light burden find rest for their souls.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:11

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. The months among the Hebrews are computed only according to the course of the moon from the first to the first, and their first month, in which the Passover is commanded to be kept, and in which the world was made, is called Nisan, which we call April. The second is Jair, which we call May, on whose seventeenth day, that is, when the moon of the same month was the seventeenth, the flood came, when on that same day Noah entered the ark with all the men, animals, and birds that were to be saved through it, for this is what follows.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 165] Justin Martyr on Genesis 7:13-16

“God closed the ark of Noah from without.” You should not imagine that the unbegotten God himself descended or ascended from any place. For the ineffable Father and Lord of all neither comes to any place, nor walks, nor sleeps, nor arises, but always remains in his place, wherever it may be, acutely seeing and hearing, not with eyes or ears but with a power beyond description.

Source: Dialogue with Trypho 127

[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 7:13-16

“The Lord shut the door before Noah,” lest those left behind come at the time of the floods and break down the gate of the ark. The deluge came and “God blotted out all flesh. Only Noah was left and those that were with him in the ark.” The springs of the abyss and the floodgates of heaven were open forty days and forty nights, and the “ark was afloat for one hundred fifty days.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.11.2

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Genesis 7:13-16

The text goes on, “The Lord God shut the ark from the outside.” Notice in this place too the considerateness in the expression “God shut the ark from the outside,” to teach us that he had ensured the good man’s complete safety. The reason for adding “from the outside” to “he shut” was that the good man might not be in the position of seeing the disaster occur and suffering even greater distress. I mean, if he brooded over that terrible flood and set indelibly in his mind the destruction of the human race, the complete annihilation of all brute beasts and the disappearance, as it were, of people, animals and the earth itself, he would have been disturbed and anguished.

Source: HOMILIES ON GENESIS 25.12

[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 7:13-16

[We see that] certain psalms are titled “for the octave.” This is the day on which the synagogue comes to an end and the church is born. This is the day in the number of which eight souls were preserved in the ark of Noah, and “its counterpart, the church,” says Peter, “now saves you.”

Source: HOMILIES 93

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:13

On that day, Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, his sons, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark. They and every animal according to its kind, and so on until it says: and all the birds entered the ark with Noah. Therefore, all the living creatures entered the ark on one and the same day, because Noah did not labor greatly and for a long time to collect and bring them in or drive them into the ark; but by divine guidance, they all came willingly in their respective numbers, following him with his children and wives in order, and each took their own quarters, as if by their own will, under the guidance of the Lord. This is supported by what is said of the birds: they entered the ark with Noah, and above generally, and of all that moved on the earth, two by two they entered the ark with Noah. On that same day, that is, the seventeenth day of the second month, the following happened.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:16

And the Lord shut him in from outside, and the flood was upon the earth forty days. Now this is the eighth day since the whole structure of the ark was completed. From which it is evident that the ark in the great mystery was completed on the tenth day of the same second month. For the first month, indeed, that ancient one which was collected from the Hebrews, can aptly represent the people of God. The second month, however, signifies the people of the New Testament. Hence it is commanded in the law, that whoever either were defiled by a dead body, or on a long journey, or preoccupied by any other necessity, could not celebrate Passover in the first month, should do so in this second month, in the blood of a lamb and with unleavened bread, on the fourteenth day in the evening. By the addition of this month we are marked, who could not previously celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's passion with the former people of God, as we were far distant from the communion of the saints, and defiled, indeed dead in sins; but who, after the sacrament of the Lord's incarnation being accomplished, came to faith, as it were, in the light of the second month we celebrate the Lord's Passover. On the tenth day of this month the ark was completed, for the Lord appearing in the flesh promised us the tenfold reward of the heavenly kingdom, granting us the ability to fulfill the Decalogue of the law, through the grace of the Holy Spirit given to us. This grace can indeed be symbolized by the number of seven days during which, after the ark was made, its entry and the advent of the flood were awaited, because surely, having received the promise of the kingdom, which is expressed by the tenfold reward, grace is given to the faithful by the Spirit, through which they can be united to the members of the holy Church. We can also correctly understand that the ark was flooded on the seventeenth day of the month and not before, because each of the faithful first ought to be marked in the faith with the sealing of true rest and the heavenly tenfold reward, that is, the image of the eternal king, and thus be admitted into the society of the Church through the washing of regeneration. Now because of the flood all the fountains of the great abyss were broken up and the floodgates, that is, the windows of heaven were opened, by the name of the great abyss the Scripture of the Old Testament is designated, which, long closed by the veil of the letter, could not open the veins of spiritual understanding to the world, but now revealed by the Lord, it provides the Church with abundant fountains of saving knowledge. The opening of the floodgates of heaven, however, signifies the outpouring of the evangelical and apostolic preaching, which clearly waters earthly hearts from above. Therefore, because we are confirmed in the faith of regeneration by the revealed words of prophecy, and by the open proclamation of the heralds of the New Testament, it is rightly said that for the making of the flood all the fountains of the great abyss were broken up and the floodgates of heaven were opened.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:16

But the Lord sealed the ark from the outside, because He always protects His Church, which rejoices in the washing of sacred baptism, with heavenly defense, so that none of those whom He has predestined to life may perish in any way, and He protects it, struggling amid the waves of the world, so that it may not be overwhelmed or submerged by the pressures or delights of the world. For the Lord sends an angel encamping around those who fear Him, and He will rescue them. But on the day of judgment, the Lord encloses Noah with the inhabitants of the ark from the outside, when, with His elect gathered with Him in the house of His Father, He shuts the door of the kingdom against the entry of the lost, although late repentant, perpetually, according to that parable in the Gospel of the ten virgins, where it is said that those who were ready went in with Him to the marriage, and the door was shut, and so forth. Moreover, it is well said that it rained upon the earth for forty days and forty nights; for ten taken four times makes forty, because all guilt of sins, which is committed against the ten precepts of the law, throughout the whole world, which is contained in four parts, is washed away by the sacrament of heavenly baptism, whether that guilt pertains to days from the prosperity of things, or to nights from the adversity of things contracted.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Genesis 7:17-20

With the eye of my mind
I gazed upon paradise.
The summit of every mountain
is lower than its summit,
the crest of the flood
reached only its foothills,
these it kissed with reverence
before turning back
to rise above and subdue the peak
of every hill and mountain.
The foothills of paradise it kisses,
while every summit it buffets.

Source: HYMNS ON PARADISE 1.4

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Genesis 7:17-20

It is not without purpose that Scripture describes all this to us. Instead, its purpose is for us to learn that not only people, cattle, four-footed beasts and reptiles were drowned but also the birds of heaven and whatever inhabited the mountains, namely, animals and other wild creatures. Hence the text says, “The flood rose fifteen cubits above the mountains,” for you to learn that the execution of the Lord’s sentence had been effected. He said, remember, “After seven more days I will bring a deluge upon the earth and I will wipe off the face of the earth all the life I have made, from human beings to cattle, and from reptiles to birds of heaven.” So Scripture narrates this not simply to teach us the flood level6 but that we may be able to understand along with this that there was absolutely nothing left standing—no wild beasts, no animals, no cattle—rather, everything was annihilated along with the human race. Since it was for their sake that all these creatures had been created, with the imminent destruction of the human beings it was fitting that these creatures too should meet their end. Then, after teaching us the great height reached by the flood waters and the fact that they rose a further fifteen cubits above the mountain peaks, it further adds out of fidelity to its characteristic precision, “There perished all flesh that moved on the earth—birds, animals, every reptile that moved on the earth, every human being—everything that had breath of life, everything on dry land: all perished.” That was not an idle reference in the words “everything on dry land”; instead, its purpose was to teach us that while others perished, the just man with everyone in the ark alone was saved.

Source: HOMILIES ON GENESIS 25.20

[AD 465] Maximus of Turin on Genesis 7:17-20

But let us see where this most sacred number of forty days had its beginning. We read first in the Old Testament that in the time of Noah, when criminal wickedness had seized the whole human race, torrents of water poured forth from the opened floodgates of heaven for just as many days. In a kind of mysterious image of Quadragesima, this inundation of the earth refers not so much to a flood as to baptism. This was clearly a baptism in which the wickedness of sinners was removed and Noah’s righteousness preserved. For this reason, then, the Lord has given us forty days now as well in imitation of that time, so that for this number of days, while the heavens are opened, a celestial rain of mercy might pour upon us and, with the flood, the water of the saving washing might enlighten us in baptism and—as was the case then—the wickedness of our sins might be quenched in us by the streams of water and the righteousness of our virtues preserved. For the very same thing is at issue with regard to Noah and in our own day: baptism is a flood to the sinner and a consecration to the faithful; by the Lord’s washing, righteousness is preserved and unrighteousness is destroyed.

Source: SERMONS 50.2

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:17

And the waters increased and lifted the ark high above the earth, the waters increased greatly and filled everything on the surface of the earth. And the waters of baptism and faith, multiplied throughout the whole world, raise the Church from the desire for earthly things to the hope and desire for heavenly life; but also from where the tribulations frequently striking the Church, the more intensely they filled everything, the higher they compelled her to seek the joys of another life: which is well indicated in sacred history, when it is said that the Amorite confined the children of Dan, in the mountain, and did not give them the place to descend to the plains. For the Amorite indeed is interpreted as Bitter, Dan as Judging or Judgment; and who are signified by the sons of Dan, if not those who diligently examine all they do, so that it may be right, in the balance of truth, who, walking by the light of the word of God, swear and decide to keep His judgments of justice; and who are expressed through the Amorite, if not those who attempt to disturb or even overthrow the sweetness of the life of the saints with the bitterness of tribulations? And the Amorite confines the sons of Dan in the mountain, and does not allow them to descend to the plains, as often such a violent storm of persecutions afflicts the elect, that they are not permitted to indulge in any time for weak thoughts; but living in the highest continence, they must devote themselves continually to prayers and fastings and the meditations of the divine Scriptures, so that by greater exercise of virtues they may be able to overcome greater struggles of temptations.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:19

Moreover, the ark was carried above the waters, and the waters prevailed exceedingly, and all the high mountains under the entire heaven were covered. They signify every proud mountain and those lifting themselves up in the glory of this world: the waters cover these mountains, but the ark is carried above them, because the torrent of temptations treads down and sinks the proud and the wicked, but it is overcome by the righteous, who, with a free course of good work and a keen mind, do not cease to strive toward the harbor of eternal salvation: which was well prefigured when Peter walked upon the water to the Lord, for evidently the Church, knocking down the waves of the world, was destined to reach the tranquility of heavenly life. Likewise, the waters of the flood lift the ark on high, covering and hiding the mountains, because the sacrament of baptism, by which the Church is exalted, despises the proud height of the world and shows it to be worthless; and because we are baptized in the hope of the future rest of souls and the resurrection of bodies unto eternal life, which carnal wisdom ignores, it is appropriately added:

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:20

The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains which it covered. Indeed, seven and eight make fifteen; seven pertains to the rest of souls which is to be after death, since the Lord certainly rested in the tomb on the seventh Sabbath; but since He rose from the dead after the Sabbath, that is, on the eighth day, the number eight very rightly indicates the time of our resurrection. Therefore, the water surpassed the high mountains by fifteen cubits, that is, seven and eight, because the faith of the Church, sanctified by the fountain of the saving washing, surpasses in the hope of future rest and immortality all the arrogance of carnal philosophy, which indeed knows how to subtly dispute about the creation of the world, but knows nothing to say about the Creator of the world and the life of the saints that is above the world.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Genesis 7:21-22

Then, a little further on in the same book [Genesis], one could just as easily have noticed the verse “Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.” This means that everything that lived on the earth perished in the flood. Thus we find that Holy Scripture is accustomed to use both phrases—“living soul” and “the breath of life”—in regard even to beasts, and in the verse “All things wherein there is the breath of life” the Greek text does not use the word pneuma but pnoē.

Source: City of God 13.24

[AD 165] Justin Martyr on Genesis 7:23-24

When the sacred text states that the entire earth was inundated, as the water reached a height of twenty-three feet above the highest mountains, it is evident that God was not speaking to your land [that is, Israel] in particular but to all those who are faithful to him, for whom he has arranged a restful haven in Jerusalem. All the signs that accompanied the flood prove my assertion. For by the expression “by water and faith and wood” it is indicated that those who prepare themselves and repent of their sins shall escape the future judgment of God.

Source: Dialogue with Trypho 138

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:23-24

We read in the story of holy Noah how he miraculously escaped the flood which destroyed the impious by being preserved with his household in the ark. From this it is evident to everyone that the Lord who loves righteousness and hates iniquity14 knows how to deliver the pious from temptation and to punish the impious with the punishment they deserve.… Through spiritual understanding this same text is shown to be full of more sacred mysteries, when the ark is discerned to signify the catholic church; the water of the flood, baptism; the clean and unclean animals, those in the church both spiritual and carnal; the wood of the ark which was smooth and covered with pitch, the teachers who are stalwart as a result of their faith.

Source: On the Tabernacle 2.7.69

[AD 735] Bede on Genesis 7:24

And the waters held sway over the earth for one hundred and fifty days. And this number pertains to the same mystery as the number fifteen because seventy is derived from seven, and eighty from eight; combining both numbers, the waters held sway over the earth for one hundred and fifty days, thus commending and confirming the sacrament of baptism in consecrating the new man towards upholding the faith in rest and resurrection.

Source: Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)