Genesis 7:20 · Bible study
Genesis 7:20 Commentary: Flood Waters Cover the Mountains
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Did the flood cover all mountains or only the known world? Explore the debate and the depth of God's judgment in Genesis 7:20.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The flood waters reached a depth of fifteen cubits (approx. 22.5 ft) above the mountains, indicating total coverage of the inhabited world.
- Key words: גָּבַר (gavar, “prevailed,” used of waters as an act of strength); כָּסָה (kasah, “covered,” implying complete submergence).
- Main debate: Global vs. local flood. The language of “all the high hills under the whole heaven” is read literally by some, as a figure of complete judgment by others.
- Theological theme: God’s judgment is thorough and inescapable; salvation is found only in His provision (the ark).
- Best use: Teaching on the certainty of God’s word, the extent of judgment, and the sufficiency of refuge in Christ.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits.
WEB World English Bible 2000
The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.
KJV King James Version 1769
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
fifteen cubits upwards have the waters become mighty, and the mountains are covered;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Fifteen cubits upward the waters prevailed; and the mountains were covered.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains which it covered.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Quince codos en alto prevalecieron las aguas; y fueron cubiertos los montes.
Quinze côvados em altura prevaleceram as águas; e foram cobertos os montes.
Les eaux s’ élevèrent de quinze coudées au-dessus des montagnes, qui furent couvertes.
Fünfzehn Ellen hoch ging das Gewässer über die Berge, die bedeckt wurden.
Vijftien ellen omhoog namen de wateren de overhand, en de bergen werden bedekt.
Le acque salirono quindici cubiti al disopra delle vette dei monti; e le montagne furon coperte.
Piętnaście łokci wzwyż wezbrały wody, gdy były okryte góry.
на пятнадцать локтей поднялась над ними вода, и покрылись [все высокие] горы.
水 勢比 山高過 十五 肘，山嶺 都淹沒了。
The waters went fifteen cubits higher, till all the mountains were covered.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 7:20
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that the waters of the flood covered the mountains to a depth of fifteen cubits (about 22, 23 feet). The phrase “fifteen cubits upward” is tied to the ark’s dimensions, it stood thirty cubits high, so this depth may represent half the ark’s height, suggesting the ark’s draught. The point of agreement is that the waters did not simply cover lowlands; they submerged every hill within the narrator’s horizon.
Sharp disagreement exists on whether this was a global flood covering all mountains on earth or a deluge limited to the known inhabited world. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown insists the language is inconsistent with a partial flood. Barnes, the Cambridge Bible, and Lange argue that “all the high hills under the whole heaven” is phenomenological language describing the world as Noah knew it. Keil and Delitzsch hold for universality but concede that the highest peaks of the Himalayas may have been left uncovered, a minor exception given their uninhabitable state.
The shared core: the flood accomplished total judgment on the human race and all land animals. The text describes maximum destruction, regardless of how far water physically extended.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Global flood: The plain reading of 'all the high hills under the whole heaven,' and the theological insistence that the flood was intended to destroy all humanity, requiring universal extent.
- Local flood (limited to inhabited world): Phenomenological language in other biblical texts; the impossibility of covering the highest mountains known today (Himalayas, Andes) without a miracle; the ark resting on Ararat, a moderate peak.
What is clear: The flood covered every mountain within sight of Noah, destroyed all land life except the ark’s occupants, and stands as a historical judgment of God that reveals both His justice and His salvation.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of the flood | The waters covered all mountains that Noah could see, and the flood destroyed all land animals and humans except those in the ark. | Some Christians (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Keil) insist the flood covered the entire globe, including the highest mountains like Everest. Others (Barnes, Cambridge Bible, Ellicott) argue it covered only the known world, a region perhaps 500, 800 miles across, since the language is phenomenological and the ark could not have floated over peaks far higher than Ararat. |
| Meaning of 'under the whole heaven' | This phrase describes the full extent of the judgment within the narrator’s perspective. | Does it mean every geographical point on earth (literal) or every point within the horizon of the human world (phenomenological)? Both views have ancient and modern defenders. |
| Significance of fifteen cubits | The measurement likely relates to the ark’s height (30 cubits) and its draught, half the ark submerged. | Some see this as a factual depth above all mountains; others as a calculation derived from the ark’s grounding on Ararat, used to indicate the flood’s peak height generically. |
| The identity of 'the mountains' | The mountains are those of the Noahic world, the high hills that were known to people at the time. | Are these all mountains on earth, or only those within the region where humans lived? The text does not specify global geography. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The measurement “fifteen cubits” (about 22.5 feet) is the only precise depth given in the flood account. The ark’s height was thirty cubits (Genesis 6:15), so the waters rose half the ark’s height above the highest mountains the writer has in view. This detail may come from the ark’s grounding: as the waters fell, the ark settled on “the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4), and the depth above that point was inferred.
Ancient readers did not know the extreme heights of the Himalayas or Andes. The phrase “under the whole heaven” is a standard idiom for “everywhere within sight” (compare Deuteronomy 2:25, 4:19). Ellicott’s Commentary notes that it means “to the utmost reach of the beholder’s gaze.” The mountains covered were those of the Noachian world, not necessarily every peak on the planet.
The debate about global versus local deluge is modern, driven by geological data and the discovery of mountains far higher than Ararat. Ancient interpreters, Jewish and Christian alike, almost always read Genesis as describing a flood that covered the entire earth. But the text does not settle the issue in modern scientific terms. It uses the language of appearance: as far as Noah could see, every hill was submerged. And that was enough to destroy all people and land animals except those in the ark.
Archaeological and geological studies suggest massive flooding in the Mesopotamian basin. But these are separate lines of evidence. The biblical narrative itself is concerned with theological meaning, judgment, salvation, covenant, more than with providing a globally precise hydrography.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of Genesis 7:20 has no significant variant readings in the manuscript tradition. The ancient versions (Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac) all render the verse with the same basic sense of fifteen cubits of water covering the mountains. The consulted sources note no textual disputes here.
Reception History
Christians across the centuries have read Genesis 7:20 as part of the global flood narrative. The early church, figures like Augustine and John Chrysostom, took the flood as universal, covering the entire earth. This remained the dominant view through the Reformation; Calvin, Luther, and later commentators like Matthew Henry all affirmed a literal, worldwide deluge.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, geological discoveries raised questions about a global flood. Some interpreters began to argue for a local deluge covering only the inhabited world. This view gained traction in some evangelical circles (e.g., Barnes, the Cambridge Bible) but remains contested. The verse continues to be read both ways: as a straightforward statement of global coverage and as a phenomenological description of total judgment in Noah’s known world.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The depth of judgment: Fifteen cubits above the mountains, a measure that shows God’s judgment is complete. No high place can escape His reach.
- The ark as refuge: The same waters that brought death lifted the ark. What destroys the unbelieving world carries the faithful safely through.
- The sovereignty of God over creation: The waters “prevailed” (Hebrew gavar), a verb of strength and victory. God commands the deep, and it obeys.
Five-point outline
- God’s word is certain: the flood came as promised (Genesis 7:17).
- Judgment increases gradually: forty days of rising waters, pressing the point that God is patient but thorough.
- No refuge but the ark: mountains, caves, high hills, all covered. Only God’s provision saves.
- The measure of grace: fifteen cubits above the mountains also means the ark floated safely above destruction.
- A new world begins: the flood clears the ground for a renewed humanity.
Illustration hooks
- The rising tide: Imagine a flood that covers every landmark you know, the tallest building in your city, the highest hill you’ve ever climbed. The water keeps rising until nothing familiar remains. That is the scale of judgment Noah’s world faced.
- Safety in the shelter: The ark was not a cruise ship; it was a box, dark and cramped. But inside it was life. Consider what it means to stay inside God’s provision even when it seems confining.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “Was the flood really global? Does it matter?”
- “If God judged the whole world then, does that mean He might judge the whole world again?”
- “How do we know the flood account isn’t just a myth borrowed from other ancient stories?”
Leading a Discussion
Genesis 7:20 sits at the heart of the flood narrative. It gives a precise detail, fifteen cubits, that invites us to think about the scale of God’s judgment and the thoroughness of His saving work. As you discuss this verse, consider what the text emphasizes and what it leaves open.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What does the text actually say about the waters? List the verbs used in verses 17, 20 to describe the flood’s action.
- Interpretation: The phrase “fifteen cubits upward” is the only exact measurement in the flood story. Why might the writer include this detail? What significance does it carry?
- Interpretation: Read “all the high hills under the whole heaven” (v.19). Some Christians read this as a literal global flood; others see it as phenomenological language describing Noah’s world. How does each reading affect the meaning of the passage?
- Application: The flood demonstrates both judgment and rescue. How does this chapter shape your understanding of God’s character, His holiness, His patience, His faithfulness?
- Application: The ark was the only place of safety. In what ways does the ark point forward to Christ and the salvation He offers?
- Connection: The New Testament refers to Noah and the flood (Matthew 24:37, 39, 1 Peter 3:20, 21, 2 Peter 2:5). How do these later writers use the flood to teach about judgment and baptism?
- Reflection: If the flood covered even the highest mountains, no one could escape by climbing higher. What does this tell us about human attempts to save ourselves?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 104:6 | You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains. |
| Jeremiah 3:23 | Truly help from the hills, the tumult on the mountains, is in vain. Truly the salvation of Israel is in Yahweh our God. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke addresses the objection that there may not be enough water to cover the whole earth by directing readers to an external scientific work for a complete response. He points to Physico-theological Discourses by Mr. Ray as providing a satisfactory answer to every objection raised on this point.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that the flood covered only the region inhabited by humanity, not the entire globe. He calculates a circle roughly 500 miles across as man's known world, and insists the text's "sobriety and historical veracity" lies in this limited, moderate description. Distant continents may have remained untouched.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator observes that the floodwaters reached exactly fifteen cubits above the mountains, half the ark's height, suggesting the ark was submerged that far and just touched the top of Ararat. He also notes how the account combines phrases from different sources, with the verb "blotted out" echoing God's earlier warning.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Note emphasizes the exact depth of the flood: fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. This precise measurement, taken from the verse itself, shows that the floodwaters did not merely reach the mountain peaks but completely submerged them, underscoring the judgment's total extent.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill counters a common objection to the flood account by arguing that the world's highest mountains are far lower than often claimed. He cites specific heights for Olympus, Athos, Caucasus, the Peak of Teneriff, and the Andes to show that fifteen additional cubits of water could plausibly cover them all.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown argue that the waters rose fifteen cubits, or twenty-two and a half feet, above the highest mountain peaks. They contend this specific measurement rules out any theory of a partial flood. The global scale of the covering is essential to their reading of the text.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch defend the flood's universality against objections that higher mountains like the Himalayas were not submerged. They argue that even if a few peaks remained uncovered, those barren, snow-covered heights could sustain no life, so every breathing creature on land still died. The flood's global extent is not negated by isolated, uninhabitable exceptions.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues the fifteen cubits over the mountains should not be taken as a precise geographical measurement. He sees it as an epic-symbolical figure, likely derived from the ark’s draft and its eventual settling on Ararat. The exact height comes from the narrative’s symbolic framework, not literal observation.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that the flood's gradual increase over forty days was God's intended call to repentance, yet sinners only hardened themselves. Even the highest mountains were no refuge, for God's power overtops every height and sweeps away all human hiding places.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws a simple logical inference from the text: if the floodwaters covered mountains, then mountains must have existed before the flood. For him this settles the question that mountains were part of the original created world, not something formed later by the flood itself.