Noah's Bum Rap

Noah’s Bum Rap

By Charlie Edwards, ThD

Many preachers and Bible teachers condemn Noah for getting drunk. I’ve heard preachers even say that “Noah had an alcohol problem.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Bible says, “…Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9). There is only one other man about whom that statement was made and that would be his great grandfather, Enoch (Gen. 5:22, 24). The scripture says, “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations,” (Gen. 6:9). No one other than Noah earned this accolade. Noah was mentioned twice by God to Ezekiel as one of the three most righteous men (Noah, Daniel, and Job) in Ezekiel 14:14, 20. Noah was caught completely off guard by what happened that day. In this paper we will present a case to “clear the accused” of any wrongdoing as well as the bad rap he has regrettably acquired. We will look at the word of God as well as contemporary factual information regarding the catastrophic changes that took place as result of the great flood of Genesis 6.

Dr. Henry M. Morris is one of many who, with the pen take upon themselves to condemn Noah. In his book THE GENESIS RECORD (page 233) Morris says, “Undoubtedly the nature of wine was well known to the antediluvians, and there is no intimation in Scripture that Noah was not fully cognizant of what he was doing when he made and drank his wine.” There is absolutely zero scriptural evidence for either of Dr. Morris’ accusations. Where is the evidence that the antediluvians did know anything about wine? There isn’t any. It is merely conjecture on Morris’ part. Where is the scriptural proof that Noah was “fully cognizant of what he was doing when he made and drank his wine?” There is no indication whatsoever that he knew what would take place. In Morris’ further distain on God’s man, he writes, “The first time ‘wine’ is mentioned in the Bible occurs here in connection with the drunkenness and shame of Noah.” Genesis 9:21 says, “And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.” The “shame” was not on Noah. He may have been uncovered, but he was “within his tent.” Where else would he be able to change his clothes privately? The shame was on his son Ham, who went in and saw his father’s nakedness, and thus brought on his son the curse of verse 25.

There were catastrophic changes made to the earth’s atmosphere and topography as result of the world-wide flood in the days of Noah. Strangely, Morris fails to take any of this into account when he passes judgment on Noah even though he co-authored (with John C. Whitcomb, Jr.) a book entitled, THE GENESIS FLOOD. In this book he discusses the antediluvian “Greenhouse Effect” of the earth’s atmosphere (pages 253-255). Briefly stated, the Greenhouse Effect is the result of a water vapor canopy that encompassed the globe before the flood. This layer of water is said to be the source for the flood waters as well as the cause of other pre-flood characteristics such as no rain (Gen. 2:5, “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth…”), no wind or temperature variations more than a few degrees (essentially, no weather change), and no ultra-violet light from the sun. Donald Wesley Patten’s book, THE BIBLICAL FLOOD AND THE ICE EPOCH goes into much greater detail of this Greenhouse Effect. Patten points out (pages 199- 200) that as result of this water vapor canopy surrounding the earth, the barometric pressure would have been greater than what we are now used to.

Donald W. Patton says, “Evidence indicates that there also has been a reorganization of our atmospheric envelope at the time of the Flood crisis, a reorganization which took its effect in at least five ways: 1. The lowering of barometric pressure. 2. A change in the mix or proportions of gasses. 3. The disestablishment of a heat equilibrium, causing a horizontal reorganization of the Earth’s climates. 4. The disestablishment of a heat equilibrium, causing a change in magnitude of vertical turbulence in the Earth’s troposphere, stratosphere, ionosphere, and exosphere. 5. A shift in the level of actinic (Ultraviolet Rays) radiation at the Earth’s surface.” (Page 195, THE BIBLICAL FLOOD AND THE ICE EPOCH by Donald W. Patton).

In a paper entitle, “Effect of Pressure and Temperature on Alcoholic Fermentation,” authors Galanakis, Kordulis, Kanellaki, Koutinas, Bekatorou, and Lycourghiotis wrote, “An increase in pressure from 3 to 7 atm [atm is the Standard Atmospheric Pressure unit. 1 atm is sea level.] and a decrease in temperature from 30 (86 F) reduced the ethanol productivity by about 50% and 70%, respectively.” (Bioresource Technology, Vol. 114, June 2012, pages 492-498). What does this mean? An increase in barometric pressure and a decrease in air temperature reduced the fermentation process by 50% and 70%. According to Mr. Patten’s studies regarding the Greenhouse Effect of pre-flood earth, there were much lower barometric pressures and lower air temperatures. As result, little or no fermentation would have taken place in stored grape juice. Additionally, with the Greenhouse Effect, there would be very little Ultraviolet Rays (actinic radiation) present, which also severely affects the ethanol (fermentation) productivity.

Regarding Barometric Pressure, Patten wrote, “In our age, atmospheric pressure, as measured with reference to sea level, averages 14.8, or nearly 15 pounds per square inch. It is thought that the atmospheric pressure in the antediluvian age was greater; in fact, it is likely that the pressure was on to three pounds per square inch greater…” (page 199).

Barometric pressure decreases with altitude. The higher you go, the thinner the air gets and the more difficult it is to breath. The dizziness that accompanies higher altitudes is the result of hypoxia. It simply means there is less oxygen in your blood stream (which supplies oxygen to your brain) because there is less oxygen in the air you breathe. Commercial aircraft that carry passengers at high altitudes generally keep the cabin air pressure around 8000 feet. Here is a quote from the TripAdvisor website: “The presence of alcohol in the blood interferes with the normal use of oxygen by the tissues (histotoxic hypoxcia). Because of reduced pressure at high altitudes and the reduced ability of the hemoglobin to absorb oxygen, the effect of alcohol in the blood, during flight at high altitudes, is much more pronounced than at sea level. The effects of one drink are magnified 2 to 3 times over the effects the same drink would have at sea level,” (https://tripadvisor.com/showtopic-g33388-i253-k728559-Effects_of altitude_on_alcohol-consumption-Denver_Colorado.html).

So after the flood and after the catastrophic changes took place on earth the Barometric Pressure went down drastically. The Bible says, “And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month upon the mountains of Ararat” (Gen. 8:4). The highest peak of Mt. Ararat is just less than 17,000 feet above sea level. It has been claimed that the Ark was found at a spot about 13,000 feet. No one knows what Noah’s altitude was at the time of Genesis 9. Let’s say for the purpose of this paper that when Noah planted his vineyard and made wine he abode at a level of 8000 feet above sea level. There are vineyards that thrive at altitudes of over 9000 feet (Argentina). In addition to much lower air pressure as result of cataclysmic changes in earth’s atmosphere, Noah resides at an altitude of 8,000 feet. His first year yields a bumper crop of fat, juicy, grapes. The entire family is probably involved in tramping the grapes. The Bible says in Isaiah 63:2, “Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?” They probably filled many pots with the new wine. Who knows how many days of enjoying delicious fresh-squeezed wine before something new took place for which they were unprepared. In the paragraph above we quoted from the treatise entitled, “Effect of Pressure and Temperature on Alcoholic Fermentation,” Which states, “An increase in barometric pressure and a decrease in air temperature reduced the fermentation process by 50 and 70%.

With all this said, let’s look at what Noah was used to: Normally he would be a little above sea level since he was obviously an experienced boat-builder. With the Greenhouse Effect the air pressure would have been much higher. There would not be any hypoxia from altitude. The fermentation, if any, would be at least 50-70% less than what it was. There would be no inebriation for any of the partakers of the wine.

However, it was not the normal situation they were used to. They were somewhere in the mountains of Ararat. The barometric pressure was much lower. The altitude had its hypoxic effect on the oxygen in their blood. The fermentation took place on the wine and the alcohol having been drunk was now in the blood stream going to the brain. Even if they were at sea level they would have been pretty drunk. Noah no doubt felt woozy and retired to his tent. He may have been trying to remove his clothes in order to put on his sleeping attire and passed out on the floor. We are not given many details in the passage. Ham may have been in the same condition. The Bible says, “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him” (Gen. 9:20-24).

Again we point out that Noah was a righteous man and had no idea of the physical effects of the new world in which he lived regarding the fermentation process. It is believed that Ham’s act on his father was associated with Sodomy and thus reaped the curse of verse 25, “And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” Noah was unable to curse Ham for his actions because he had already been blessed him in verse one.

As we stated above, Noah was without fault in what took place on that day in Genesis 9. He had no idea what fermentation was or the effects it would have on his grape juice. He walked with God. He was on the same spiritual level as Daniel and Job (Ezk. 14). It is our hope that the reader, after having read this paper, will give Noah the benefit of the doubt and honor his memory as did the writer of Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”