The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is a Hebrew flood myth.[1] It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre-creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microcosm of Noah's ark.[2]
The Book of Genesis was probably composed around the 5th century BCE;[3] although some scholars believe that primeval history (chapters 1–11), including the flood narrative, may have been composed and added as late as the 3rd century BCE.[4] It draws on two sources, called the Priestly source and the non-Priestly or Yahwist,[5] and although many of its details are contradictory,[6] the story forms a unified whole.[7]
A global flood as described in this myth is inconsistent with the physical findings of geology, archeology, paleontology, and the global distribution of species.[8][9][page needed][10][page needed] A branch of creationism known as flood geology is a pseudoscientific attempt to argue that such a global flood actually occurred.[11] Some Christians have preferred to interpret the narrative as describing a local flood instead of a global event.[12] Still others prefer to interpret the narrative as allegorical rather than historical.[13]