Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 7:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The waters prevail fifteen cubits upward above the covered mountains. The measure reinforces that the ark can move over submerged high ground, but its conversion and relationship to a modern topographic model remain uncertain.
Read It With
- Genesis 7:1–24
Read verses 19–20 together and remember the ark's thirty-cubit height in Genesis 6:15. Verse 19 states comprehensive mountain coverage; verse 20 gives a fifteen-cubit measure; the earlier dimension may invite draft proposals but does not prove one.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The fifteen-cubit notice quantifies coverage immediately before the narrative turns from submerged land to dead land creatures.
Read Genesis 7:17–20 together
Why these verses belong together: The waters lift the ark, carry it, become exceedingly mighty, cover the mountains, and reach the fifteen-cubit measure.
Verse 17. 17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
Verse 18. 18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
Verse 19. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Verse 20. 20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
Follow the Context
- The LORD commands Noah's household to enter, distinguishes clean and unclean animal numbers, announces seven more days and forty days of rain, and receives Noah's obedience (7:1–5).
- Noah's age, household, clean and unclean creatures, paired entry, and the seven-day wait are reported before the flood arrives (7:6–10).
- A precise date locates the bursting great deep and opened heavens; rain falls, the complete household and creature community enters, and the LORD shuts Noah in (7:11–16).
- For forty days the waters increase, lift the ark, prevail across the earth, cover the mountains, and rise fifteen cubits above them (7:17–20).
- Every breathing land creature outside dies; Noah and those with him remain; and the waters prevail for 150 days (7:21–24).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“fifteen cubits upward”
In plain language: The waters reach about fifteen cubits above the stated covered level.
The following clause keeps the mountains as the immediate reference.
Why it matters: The number concerns coverage, not the flood's full depth from an unspecified ground point.
How certain? probable“did the waters prevail”
In plain language: The waters remain mighty at that height.
The repeated verb keeps dominance, not surveying technique, at the center.
Why it matters: The measurement serves the story's water-victory movement.
How certain? strong“the mountains were covered”
In plain language: Elevated land is submerged.
The sentence completes the claim begun in verse 19.
Why it matters: Verse 20 cannot be interpreted responsibly without the preceding mountain statement.
How certain? very strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Fifteen cubits does not mean that the entire flood was only fifteen cubits deep.
The measure does not identify which mountain, its elevation, an exact modern cubit, or the flood's total water volume.
Half the ark's stated height does not prove a particular draft, clearance, or engineering reconstruction.
What Remains True
Precise numbers should be honored without being made to answer questions beyond the data they provide.
How It Can Shape Life
- When using measurements in a safety claim, identify the reference point, uncertainty, and limits instead of presenting an inference as direct observation.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 7:20's contribution to Genesis 7:1–24. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 7:1–24 — The Flood Covers the EarthSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The referential relation is most naturally water above the covered mountains, but the verse supplies no modern datum or exact cubit length.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Reader-facing Scripture wording, verse numbering, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup.
Exact location: Pinned eBible/CrossWire standardized 1769 KJV corpus, Genesis 7:1–24
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Righteousness, clean and unclean terms, repeated numerals, wipe-away language, deep and floodgates, entry formulas, prevail language, breath of life, dry land, survival, and 150 days.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 7:1–24
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Prominent 'you,' seven or seven pairs, male-and-mate wording, seven days, forty days, paired entry, deep and heaven imagery, prevail language, fifteen cubits, breath of life, survival, and 150 days.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 7:1–24 translator notes 1–39
Open NET Genesis 7 ↗