Persons and history in Genesis 7

Says The New Testament treats Noah as a man of the past who entered the ark and was preserved. “For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark” (Matt 24:38, BSB). “Then the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:27, BSB). “In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water” (1 Pet 3:20, BSB). 2 Peter 2:5 speaks of Noah as a preacher of righteousness, preserved when the flood came on the ungodly. 2 Peter 3:6 speaks of the world of that time perishing in the flood. “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family” (Heb 11:7, BSB).

Implies Noah is a real person, consistent with those texts and with the notes on Genesis 2 and 6. No lean is taken here between historical narrative and history told with literary features.

Uncertain A purely non-historical reading, in which Noah is not a real person, is presented by its grounds and stands outside that core. Ground: other ancient traditions also tell of a man who enters a vessel before a flood. Objection: this chapter names Noah and his house, and the New Testament texts above treat him as a man who entered the ark and was preserved. No lean is taken here between historical narrative and history told with literary features.