Early Christian Beliefs About Noah’s Flood

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Direct teaching

..., and the father of Caïnan was Arphaxad, whose father was Shem, and the father of Shem was Noah. In Noah's time there was a flood over the whole world, which neither Egyptians, nor Chaldeans, nor Greeks remember. For the floods that happened in the time of Ogyges and Deucalion reached only the places where those people lived. So then, in the case of these patriarchs, that is, from Noah to Heber inclusive, there were five generations and 495 years. This Noah, since he was a very reverent man and one who loved God, alone escaped the flood that followed, along with his wife, his children, and their three wives. He was preserved by an ark. And both the measurements and the remains of this ark are, as we have explained, shown to this day in the mountains called Ararat, which lie in the direction of the land of the Adiabeni. Therefore, those who are willing to examine the matter carefully can see how clearly it has been shown that there existed a nation of worshippers of the true God, older than all the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and Greeks. What need is there now to name those who, before Noah, were devout men and were allowed to speak with the true God, since, as far as the subject befor

Julius Africanus, Extant Writings Direct teaching

...ntil the flood, in the case of the sinners of that time; for they were 20 years old. God instructed Noe, who pleased Him because of his righteousness, to prepare an ark. When it was finished, Noe himself entered it, and his sons, his wife, and his daughters-in-law, and the firstlings of every living creature, for the continuation of the race. And Noe was 600 years old when the flood came upon the earth. When the water went down, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, which we know to be in Parthia. But some say they are at Celaenae in Phrygia, and I have seen both places. And the flood prevailed for a year, and then the earth became dry. And they came out of the ark in pairs, as may be found, and not in the way in which they had entered, that is, distinguished according to their species, and they were blessed by God. And each of these things points to something useful for us.

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Direct teaching

And he does not claim that there was a second flood. On the contrary, he said that there would never again be a flood of water over the world. In fact, there has not been one, and there never will be. And he says that eight people were kept safe in the ark, which had been prepared by God's command, not by Deucalion, but by Noah. This Hebrew name means "rest," as we have shown elsewhere. Noah, when he announced to the people then living that a flood was coming, prophesied to them and said, "Come here, God calls you to repentance." For this reason he was fittingly called Deucalion. And this Noah had three sons, as we mentioned in the second book. Their names were Shem, Ham, and Japhet. They also had three wives, one wife for each man, each man with his wife. Some have given this man the surname Eunuchus. Therefore, all eight persons who were found in the ark were preserved. And Moses showed that the flood lasted forty days and forty nights. Torrents poured from heaven, and the fountains of the deep burst open, so that the water rose fifteen cubits above every high hill. And so the whole human race that existed at that time was destroyed, and only those who were sheltered in the ark w

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Direct teaching

And in Noah's time there occurred a flood throughout the entire world, which neither Egyptians, nor Chaldeans, nor Greeks recollect;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

...g, and be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding.” “For as it was in the days of Noah, they ate and drank, they bought and sold, they married and were given in marriage, and they didn’t know until Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all; likewise, in the days of Lot, they ate and drank, they bought and sold, they planted and built, until Lot left Sodom; it rained fire from heaven and destroyed them all: so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man.” “Therefore, watch, for you don’t know on what day your Lord will come.” In these passages, He declares the same Lord, who in the times of Noah brought the flood because of man’s disobedience, and who also in the days of Lot rained fire from heaven because of the multitude of sinners among the Sodomites, and who, due to this same disobedience and similar sins, will bring the day of judgment at the end of time; on which day, He declares, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city and house which does not receive the word of His apostles. “And you, Capernaum,” He said, “will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to hell. For if the mighty works done in yo

Julius Africanus, Extant Writings Background

Noah was 600 years old when the flood came. Therefore, from Adam to Noah and the flood, there are 2,262 years.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

...ewarder of those who keep them, and the avenger of those who transgress them. You brought the great flood upon the world because of the multitude of the ungodly, and delivered righteous Noah from that flood by an ark, 1 Peter 3:20, with eight souls, the end of the former generations and the beginning of those who were to come. You kindled a fearful fire against the five cities of Sodom, and turned a fruitful land into a salt lake because of the wickedness of those who lived in it, but snatched holy Lot out of the fire. You are He who delivered Abraham from the impiety of his forefathers, appointed him to be the heir of the world, and revealed Your Christ to him; who beforehand ordained Melchizedek as a high priest for Your worship; who made Your patient servant Job the conqueror of that serpent who is the patron of wickedness; who made Isaac the son of the promise, and Jacob the father of twelve sons, and increased his posterity into a multitude, and brought him into Egypt with seventy-five souls. You, O Lord, did not ignore Joseph, but granted him, as a reward for his chastity for Your sake, rule over the Egyptians. You, O Lord, did not ignore the Hebrews when they were afflict

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

who brought the great flood upon the world by reason of the multitude of the ungodly, and delivered righteous Noah from that flood by an ark, 1 Peter 3:20 with eight souls, the end of the foregoing generations, and the beginning of those that were to come;

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Supporting witness

But Moses, our prophet and the servant of God, in giving an account of the genesis of the world, related in what manner the flood came upon the earth, telling us, besides, how the details of the flood came about, and relating no fable of Pyrrha nor of Deucalion or Clymenus;

Tertullian, Apology Direct teaching

But where — I do not say were Christians, those despisers of your gods — but where were your gods themselves in those days, when the flood poured its destroying waters over all the world, or, as Plato thought, merely the level portion of it?

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

...he human race, He chose one man who, when all others were corrupt, stood out above them all as a remarkable example of righteousness. When this man was six hundred years old, he built an ark, as God had commanded him. In it he was saved, together with his wife, his three sons, and his three daughters-in-law, when the water had covered even the highest mountains. Then, when the earth was dry, God condemned the wickedness of that former age. So that long life might not again become a cause for devising evil, He gradually shortened the lifespan of man in each succeeding generation, and set a limit of one hundred and twenty years, which it would not be permitted to exceed. But when he came out of the ark, as the sacred writings tell us, he carefully farmed the land and planted a vineyard with his own hand. By this fact, those who think that Bacchus was the inventor of wine are refuted. For this man not only lived before Bacchus, but also many generations before Saturn and Uranus. And when he had first taken fruit from the vineyard, he became merry, drank even to the point of intoxication, and lay naked. When one of his sons, whose name was Cham, saw this, he did not cover his father

Genesis 7:11 Direct teaching

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.

Anonymous, Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian Typology

5. As we said above, that ark was a figure of the Church, which was struck here and there so severely by the violent waters. Therefore, the flood that happened under Noah showed the pattern of the persecution that was very recently poured out over the whole world. Moreover, by the waters—the cataracts breaking out, joining together on every side, and increasing—were meant the peoples who rose up for the destruction of the Church; as the Apocalypse teaches, saying, "The waters which you saw are peoples, and nations, and kingdoms," Revelation 17:15. Moreover, the dove, which could not find rest for its feet, bore the likeness of the lapsed, who fell away, forgetting the divine announcements, either through simple ignorance or through bold pretense. About these, the Lord had pointed beforehand to their future destruction in the Gospel with these words, saying, "He who hears my words and does them not, I will liken him to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: the tempests came and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was its destruction," Matthew 7:26-27. And lest we should seem to have made the comparison thoughtlessly, in comparing that dove to the image of the la

Cyprian, Epistles Typology

...ommanded and warned us that we cannot be saved except by the one baptism of the one Church. "In the ark of Noah," he says, "few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water; baptism will likewise save you also." 1 Peter 3:20-21 In a very short and spiritual summary, he has set forth the sacred mystery of unity. For just as, in that baptism of the world, when its ancient wickedness was washed away, the person who was not in Noah's ark could not be saved by water, so also a person cannot seem to be saved by baptism if he has not been baptized in the Church, which is established in the unity of the Lord according to the sacred mystery of the one ark.

Tertullian, On Baptism Typology

...essenger that announced to the earth that heaven's wrath had calmed, when she was sent out from the ark and returned with the olive branch, a sign that even among the nations is a forewarning of peace. So too, by the same rule of heavenly action, the dove of the Holy Spirit flies to the earth — that is, to our flesh — as it comes up from the font after its old sins, bringing us the peace of God, sent out from the heavens where the Church is, the ark that was prefigured. But the world returned to sin, and in this respect baptism would be a poor comparison to the flood. And so the world is destined for fire, just as the person is too who renews his sins after baptism. Therefore this also should be taken as a sign for our warning.

Cyprian, Epistles Typology

...that the Church is one, and that only those who are in the Church can be baptized. He said, “In the ark of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water; the like figure to which even baptism shall save you.” 1 Peter 3:20-21 In this way he proves and testifies that the one ark of Noah was a type of the one Church. If, then, in that baptism by which the world was expiated and purified, the person who was not in Noah’s ark could be saved by water, then the person who is not in the Church, to which alone baptism is granted, can also now be made alive by baptism. Moreover, the Apostle Paul, showing this same thing even more openly and clearly, writes to the Ephesians and says, “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water.” But if the Church is one, and it alone is loved by Christ and cleansed by His washing, how can someone who is not in the Church be either loved by Christ, or washed and cleansed by His washing?

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Typology

Furthermore, they claim that the arrangement made regarding the ark during the Deluge, which saved eight people, clearly signifies the Ogdoad that brings salvation. David also demonstrates this, as he was the eighth in terms of age among his brothers. Moreover, the circumcision that occurred on the eighth day symbolized the higher Ogdoad's circumcision. In short, whenever they find something in the Scriptures associated with the number eight, they claim it fulfills the mystery of the Ogdoad. Similarly, concerning the Decad, they assert that it is indicated by the ten nations God promised to Abraham as a possession. The arrangement made by Sarah, when after ten years she gave her handmaid Hagar to him so that he might have a son through her, demonstrated the same idea. Additionally, the servant of Abraham who went to Rebekah and gave her ten gold bracelets at the well, her brothers who kept her for ten days, Jeroboam who received the ten scepters (tribes), the ten courts of the tabernacle, the columns ten cubits high, the ten sons of Jacob initially sent to Egypt to buy grain, and the ten apostles to whom the Lord appeared after His resurrection—with Thomas being absent—all, accordi

Cyprian, Epistles Typology

1 Peter 3:20-21 proving and attesting that the one Ark of Noah was a type of the one Church.

Cyprian, Epistles Typology

1 Peter 3:21 showing that as they who were not in the ark with Noah not only were not purged and saved by water, but at once perished in that deluge;

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Typology

...nderstand, then, gentlemen," I said, "that God has said in Isaiah to Jerusalem: 'I saved you in the flood of Noah.' What God meant by this is that the mystery of saved people was revealed in the flood. Righteous Noah, together with the other humans at the flood—meaning his wife, his three sons, and their wives, totaling eight people—symbolized the eighth day when Christ appeared by rising from the dead, forever the first in power. Christ, being the firstborn of every creature, became the leader of a new human race, regenerated by Himself through water, faith, and wood, symbolizing the mystery of the cross; just as Noah was saved by wood when he floated over the waters with his family. So, when the prophet says, 'I saved you in the times of Noah,' as I've already mentioned, he is addressing those who are equally faithful to God and bear the same signs. For when Moses had the rod in his hands, he led your nation through the sea. And you believe this was spoken only to your nation or to the land. However, the entire earth, as Scripture states, was flooded, and the water rose fifteen cubits above all the mountains, making it clear that this was not spoken to the land, but to the peo

Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Typology

Noah came out of the ark on the twenty-seventh day of the month Jiar, in the second year. The ark kept sailing for five whole months, and it moved back and forth on the waters. Then, over a period of fifty-one days, it came near the land. After that, it did not keep floating around any longer. Instead, it moved in turn toward the four main directions of the earth, and at last it came to rest facing east. We also say that this was a sign of the cross. And the ark was a symbol of the Christ who was expected. For that ark was the means of salvation for Noah and his sons, and also for the cattle, the wild animals, and the birds. And Christ too, when He suffered on the cross, delivered us from accusations and sins, and washed us in His own most pure blood.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Typology

For righteous Noah, along with the other mortals at the deluge, i.e., with his own wife, his three sons and their wives, being eight in number, were a symbol of the eighth day, wherein Christ appeared when He rose from the dead, for ever the first in power.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching

...lood came upon the earth, sweeping away the rebellious world because of that infamous generation in Noah's time. The Antichrist also embodies every error of false idols since the flood, along with the killing of the prophets and the destruction of the just. The image set up by Nebuchadnezzar was sixty cubits tall and six cubits wide; Ananias, Azarias, and Mishaell, who refused to worship it, were thrown into a furnace of fire, prophetically indicating the wrath against the righteous that will arise towards the end times. That image, in its entirety, prefigured this man’s arrival, decreeing that he alone should be worshipped by all men. Thus, the six hundred years of Noah, during which the flood occurred because of apostasy, and the dimensions of the image for which these just men were thrown into the fiery furnace, indicate the number of the name of that man in whom the entire apostasy of six thousand years, unrighteousness, wickedness, false prophecy, and deception are concentrated; for these reasons, a cataclysm of fire will also come upon the earth.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...d every generation to repentance through righteous men and prophets. He instructed those before the flood through Abel, Shem, and Seth, also through Enos and through Enoch, who was taken up. He instructed those at the time of the flood through Noah; the people of Sodom through hospitable Lot; those after the flood through Melchizedek, the patriarchs, and Job, the beloved of God; the Egyptians through Moses; the Israelites through him, and Joshua, and Caleb, and Phinehas, and the rest; those after the law through angels and prophets, and the same people by His own incarnation from the Virgin; those a little before His bodily appearing through John His forerunner, and the same people by that same man after Christ's birth, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Matthew 3:2; and those after His passion through us, the twelve apostles, and Paul, the chosen vessel. Therefore we, who have been counted worthy of the favor of being witnesses of His appearing, together with James the brother of our Lord, and the other seventy-two disciples, and his seven deacons, have heard from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with exact knowledge declare what the will of God is,

Anonymous, Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian Direct teaching

Let us now consider the second meaning of the dove sent out from the ark, that is, at the time of the flood, when all the deep springs burst open and the windows of heaven were opened over the earth because of the wickedness that men practiced every day before the Lord. As Moses said, "And the Lord God saw that the wickednesses of men were overflowing on the earth, and that all of them were remembering evil from the beginning of their days; and He said, I will destroy man whom I have made from the face of the earth, from man to cattle, and from creeping thing to the birds of the air." Genesis 6:5-7 Therefore, at the time of the flood, the dove was sent out from the ark, when the waters were rushing violently with all their force over the earth.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

since they were ignorant both at what time the flood happened on the earth, and who it was that deserved on account of his righteousness to be saved when the human race perished, and how and with whom he was saved: all of which are taught by the inspired writings.

Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness

After this, being desirous to show that it is nothing either wonderful or new which we state regarding floods or conflagrations, but that, from misunderstanding the accounts of these things which are current among Greeks or barbarous nations, we have accorded our belief to our own Scriptures when treating of them, he writes as follows: The belief has spread among them, from a misunderstanding of the accounts of these occurrences, that after lengthened cycles of time, and the returns and conjunctions of planets, conflagrations and floods are wont to happen, and because after the last flood, which took place in the time of Deucalion, the lapse of time, agreeably to the vicissitude of all things, requires a conflagration and this made them give utterance to the erroneous opinion that God will descend, bringing fire like a torturer.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

If, therefore, the flood took place for the purpose of destroying wickedness, which had increased through the excessive multitude of men, how was Prometheus the maker of man, when his son Deucalion is said by the same writers to have been the only one who was preserved on account of his righteousness?

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

...descendants. This invention of the poets can be refuted by many arguments. Everyone agrees that the flood took place for the destruction of wickedness and to remove it from the earth. Now philosophers, poets, and writers of ancient history say the same thing, and in this they especially agree with the words of the prophets. If, therefore, the flood happened to destroy wickedness, which had increased because of the excessive number of men, how was Prometheus the maker of man, when the same writers say that his son Deucalion was the only one who was preserved because of his righteousness? How could one line of descent and one generation have so quickly filled the world with men? But it is clear that they have corrupted this account also, as they did the earlier one, since they did not know at what time the flood happened on the earth, or who it was that deserved to be saved because of his righteousness when the human race perished, or how and with whom he was saved. All these things are taught by the inspired writings. It is clear, therefore, that the account they give about the work of Prometheus is false.

Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness

...ther in their essential qualities nor in their accidental qualities. But we do not refer either the deluge or the conflagration to cycles and planetary periods. Rather, we declare the cause of them to be the extensive prevalence of wickedness, and its consequent removal by a deluge or a conflagration. And if the voices of the prophets say that God comes down, He who has said, "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the Lord, the term is used in a figurative sense. For God comes down from His own height and greatness when He arranges the affairs of men, and especially those of the wicked. And as common usage leads men to say that teachers condescend to children, and wise men to those young men who have just given themselves to philosophy, not by descending in a bodily manner, so, if God is said anywhere in the holy Scriptures to come down, it is understood as spoken in conformity with the usage that employs the word in that way, and in like manner also with the expression "go up."

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

and in the days of Noah He justly brought on the deluge for the purpose of extinguishing that most infamous race of men then existent, who could not bring forth fruit to God, since the angels that sinned had commingled with them, and [acted as He did] in order that He might put a check upon the sins of these men, but [that at the same time] He might preserve the archetype, the formation of Adam.

Tertullian, To Scapula Supporting witness

As to the rains of the bygone year, it is abundantly plain of what they were intended to remind men — of the deluge, no doubt, which in ancient times overtook human unbelief and wickedness;

Genesis 6:17 Direct teaching

And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

Genesis 6:13 Supporting witness

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.