Was the reason for the flood to remove corrupt DNA? Examining debatable claims...

Revision: February, 2019

Was the reason for the flood to remove corrupt DNA? Examining debatable claims...

^{Read: The Book of Enoch
Messianic Prophecy Edition}

^{“Time-Capsule to the Last Generation”}

Myth: The reason for the flood was to remove corrupt DNA

It is often stated that Noah was selected to save humanity because he and his family alone had uncorrupted DNA. But is this what is taught by the Bible and Enoch? Here is what Genesis actually says,

“Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9)

It says Noah found favor with God because he was “righteous” and “blameless” and (like Enoch) was said to have “walked with God”. So, where does this idea come from that only Noah’s line had uncorrupted DNA?

I believe the idea comes from an assumption. People assume that all human DNA before the flood had become corrupted. Or, people assume that the primary reason for the flood was to eliminate polluted DNA. But does Genesis or even Enoch ever teach this?

What was the reason for the flood according to Genesis?

The primary reason for the flood is found in Genesis 6:5-6,

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”

God sought to destroy the world because mankind had fallen into wickedness and “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. The very next verse connects this wickedness with God’s motive for the flood,

“So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.’” (Genesis 6:7)

The idea that all mankind had bad DNA or even that Noah was the only one righteous makes no sense. Please note from the chart below, Noah was a contemporary with all his forebears except for Adam and Enoch. His grandfather Methuselah was commissioned by Enoch to preserve his books for future generations. How many children do you think Methuselah had over the course of his nearly 1,000 years? or any of the other patriarchs?

No, the clear teaching of Scripture AND Enoch is that the primary reason for the flood came about because of wickedness. No doubt other good things were accomplished by the flood. Cleansing the earth from the works of evil men and angels was also accomplished by the flood. Corrupted DNA was NOT the primary purpose for the flood. {Top}

Revision: February, 2019