But that would be conceding that the story says that the flood was universal, which Purpledawn's denies. And even a large, localised flood would not have covered the known world at the time of writing. Canaan itself, for instance, is unlikely to have been affected at all.
I see what you're saying now. Well, it's an interesting concept. The only way to know is to read the text and attempt to determine whether or not it was hyperbole or whether or not it was literal.
Consider the following passages as clues to the intent of the author:
quote:
I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. -- Genesis 9:11
Obviously there have been many localized floods since this time. It is therefore possible that this flood was so large that the people of Mesopotamia literally thought that this flood covered the whole planet.
quote:
So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. -- Genesis 6:13
The illustration here is unmistakable. The author clearly states that all people on earth will be destroyed [save Noah and his family], and that the earth would essentially have to start over as a result.
It seems to me that the intent of the author was to illustrate that this was a global flood. Obviously we know that isn't factually accurate, but from a purely literary point of view, that seems to be the intent of the author.
"Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it" -- Thomas Paine
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