This is interesting to me because I live next to a river and have crows and ravens close by and do not want them in my neighborhood. They usually wake up earlier than humans and make noise. Previously, I could not see why God would create such creatures. However, reading about Noah and learning what ravens do changed my mind.
I think I did read what you said. I think we agree this is after the 40 days and 40 nights. Where we disagree is where the raven would be seeking a place to rest. In your scenario, it would need a homing instinct to return to the ark. I thought the raven would land on some flotsam for rest, if necessary. The raven would be able to survive in the waters and not return. Again, that's why Noah released the raven first; For he wanted to know if there was a chance of finding land before sending the dove out. He wanted the raven to not return for then there was a chance of finding land. In the long chance that the raven did return, then Noah would not have sent the dove out. He would send the raven out again later.
Except that the Genesis Flood and the Ark were never original story of the Flood.
The Babylonian Flood was very popular in the Middle East, and during the Bronze Age tablets of Babylonian myths, especially that of the Epic of Gilgamesh have spread far west as Egypt and the Hittite capital.
Tablets of Gilgamesh and other works have been found in Ugarit and in Megiddo. And these Babylonian myths were still popular throughout the 1st millennium BCE, when people of Judah found themselves as hostages in Babylon during the 6th century BCE.
The Akkadian Epic of Atrahasis provide even more detail about the Flood than that of Epic of Gilgamesh. There are older myth that of the Epic of Atrahasis, but the Sumerian Eridu Genesis (late 3rd millennium BCE) is badly fragmented, so a large part of the Flood is missing, but there are enough of Eridu Genesis to know that the Epic of Atrahasis is based on the older Sumerian text.
The Epic of Atrahasis was written in about 1700 BCE, based on it mentioning the name of author Ipiq-Aya, who lived in the reign of Babylonian king Ammi-sadqua. So we know that the Epic is centuries older than Genesis, which (Genesis) dated somewhere in second half of 1st millennium BCE.
The Epic described Enki (Ea) and Enlil were responsible for the creation of humans, in the 1st tablet, and in the 2nd tablet, Enlil wanted to destroy men, because of over-population and the noises were disturbing his temperament.Enlil would order pestilences, drought, famine, but Enki would foil Enlil's plan. In the 3rd tablet, it narrated Enlil decided to destroy man with the Flood.
Again, Enki foiled Enlil's plan, by informing Atrahasis on how to save himself, his family and some of servants, by building a vessel. Some of the differences between Epic and Genesis are that the Flood in the Epic -
- had nothing to do with mankind being evil,
- the Flood rain had only lasted 7 days and 7 nights,
- there are more than one god in the Epic.
Where they are strikingly similar is the Epic also include:
- building of the vessel to save Atrahasis and company,
- after the rain, Atrahasis releasing the birds to find land,
- and the odor of burnt sacrifice drew the attention of the gods.
It is very clear to me that the Hebrew version had borrowed Babylonian version, and adapted it for Hebrew religion and Hebrew readers.
