Why do people think that the Flood covered our whole Earth?

Question

:

Jos 24:2 -
And Joshua said to all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, [even] Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.

Jos 24:3 -
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

Jos 24:14 -
Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

Jos 24:15 -
And if it seemeth evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Answer 1

First because The Big Story Book said it covered the "tallest mountain" (For you fundies, that would be Everest). Second, if it didn't cover the "whole earth" why would "Noah" have had any reason to build his boat, and save a pair of each animal? Wouldn't they have survived just fine on the part of the "whole earth" that was not flooded? Are you OK?

Answer 2

You have a problem with hermeneutics : understanding ancient written communication.

I don't know Hebrew nor Greek, but some translations say "flood", including French; while others say 'river' including Spanish. Based on the context, river is the more suitable rendering.

To help, here is a comparsion of Jos 24:2

Jos 24:2

(ASV) And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.

(BBE) And Joshua said to all the people, These are the words of the Lord, the God of Israel: In the past your fathers, Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, were living on the other side of the River: and they were worshipping other gods.

(FDB) Et Josué dit à tout le peuple: Ainsi dit l'Éternel, le Dieu d'Israël: Vos pères, Térakh, père d'Abraham et père de Nakhor, ont habité anciennement au delà du fleuve, et ils ont servi d'autres dieux;

(GNT-TR+)

(GNT-V)

(GNT-WH+)

(HOT) ויאמר יהושׁע אל־כל־העם כה־אמר יהוה אלהי ישׂראל בעבר הנהר ישׁבו אבותיכם מעולם תרח אבי אברהם ואבי נחור ויעבדו אלהים אחרים׃

(HOT+) ויאמר559 יהושׁע3091 אל413 כל3605 העם5971 כה3541 אמר559 יהוה3068 אלהי430 ישׂראל3478 בעבר5676 הנהר5104 ישׁבו3427 אבותיכם1 מעולם5769 תרח8646 אבי1 אברהם85 ואבי1 נחור5152 ויעבדו5647 אלהים430 אחרים׃312

(ISV)

(KJV+) And Joshua3091 said559 unto413 all3605 the people,5971 Thus3541 saith559 the LORD3068 God430 of Israel,3478 Your fathers1 dwelt3427 on the other side5676 of the flood5104 in old time,4480, 5769 even Terah,8646 the father1 of Abraham,85 and the father1 of Nachor:5152 and they served5647 other312 gods.430

(LITV) And Joshua said to all the people, So says Jehovah the God of Israel, Your fathers have in the past lived Beyond the River (Terah the father of Abraham and father of Nahor) and they served other gods.

(LXX) καὶ εἶπεν Ἰησοῦς πρὸς πάντα τὸν λαόν Τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ Πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ κατῴκησαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν τὸ ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς, Θαρα ὁ πατὴρ Αβρααμ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ Ναχωρ, καὶ ἐλάτρευσαν θεοῖς ἑτέροις.

(RV) And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.

(SSE) Y dijo Josué a todo el pueblo: Así dice el SEÑOR, Dios de Israel: Vuestros padres habitaron antiguamente al otro lado del río, es a saber , Taré, padre de Abraham y de Nacor; y servían a dioses extraños.

Answer 3

Joshua and the Hebrews were in Israel at that time.
The flood is either the Jordon River or the Euphrates River (not so likely).

Abraham lived on the same side (in time) of the flood as Joshua, so it could not mean the flood in Noah's day.

Answer 4

Essentially it did. The cause, as implied by much earlier sources, was the sliding off of a big iceberg from Antartica into the Indian Ocean. It was like throwing in a big chunk of ice on a glassful of water. Even now, if the Polar ice melt by a 10 degree Centigrade heat due to global warming, the sea level the world over will rise by 10 feet or so. A more sudden displacement can cover even Mt. Ararat.

Answer 5

it was world wide. Abraham was not alive during the flood. flood could mean river or even sea.

Answer 6

???? not clear????