“Thefloodcontinuedfortydaysontheearth;andthewatersincreased,andboreuptheark,anditrosehighabovetheearth...andthearkfloatedonthefaceofthewaters“(Gen6:17-18NRSV).InmoderntimestheGenesisfloodaccounthasbeenprobedandanalyzedforanswerstoscientific,apologetic,andhistoricalquestions.Itisatextthathascalledforth“floodgeology,“fueledsearchesforremnantsofthearkonMountArarat,andinspiredafull-sizereplicaofNoah’sarkinathemepark.SomeclaimthattheveryveracityofScripturehingesonaparticularreadingofthefloodnarrative.Butdoweunderstandwhatwearereading?LongmanandWaltonurgeustoaskwhatthebiblicalauthormighthavebeensayingtohisancientaudience.OurquesttorediscoverthebiblicalfloodrequiresthatwesetasideourownculturalandinterpretiveassumptionsandvisitthedistantworldoftheancientNearEast.Responsibleinterpretationcallsforthepatientexaminationofthetextwithinitsancientcontextoflanguage,literature,andthought.Andaswereturnfromthatlostworldtoourown,wewillneedtoaskwhethergeologicalsciencesupportsthenotionoffloodgeology.ToreadLongmanandWaltonistoputourfeetonfirmerinterpretiveground.Withoutattemptingtoanswerallofourquestions,theyliftthefogofmodernityandallowthesunlighttorevealthetruecontoursofthetext.AswithotherbooksintheLostWorldseries,TheLostWorldoftheFloodisaninformativeandenlighteningjourneytowardamoreresponsiblereadingofatimelessbiblicalnarrative.ThebooksintheLostWorldSeriesfollowthepatternsetbyBiblescholarJohnH.Walton,bringingafresh,closereadingoftheHebrewtextandknowledgeofancientNearEasternliteraturetoanaccessiblediscussionofthebiblicaltopicathandusingaseriesoflogic-basedpropositions.
