"For even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing, the hope of the world took refugee on a raft, and guided by your hand left to the world the seed of a new generation." (Wisdom of Solomon 14:6)

In every part of the world in various civilizations that have existed apart one from another for thousands of years the legends about the great flood that once befell our planet have been preserved. Most of them are from the ancient peoples of North and South Americas,and least from Europe. Amazingly enough, all the legends are coincident with the Biblical report of the Flood,as it shall be seen from the several examples that follow:

An evidence to the Biblical fact that the Noah's Ark looked like a box, can be traced back to the Incas of Peru:

"The water rose above the highest mountain in the world. All created things perished, except for a man and woman who floated in a box. When the flood subsided, the box was taken by the wind to Tiahuanacu, about 200 miles from Cuzco." (Gaster, p. 127)

A story from the Hawaii Islands confirms the Biblical report of a few survivors of the flood:

"All the land was once overflowed by the sea, except for the peak of Mauna Kea, where two humans survived. The event is called kai a Kahinarii (sea of Kahinarii)." (Gaster, p. 110)

An interesting report can be found in the history of the Mandingo tribe (Ivory Coast). God protected and saved life of a single virtuous man of that time; present human race has descended from that very man:

"A charitable man gave away everything he had. The god Ouende rewarded him with riches, advised him to leave the area, and sent six months of rain to destroy his selfish neighbors. The descendants of the rich man became the present human race." (Kelsen, pp. 135-136)

A tale confirming the biblical report of God was sorry to destroy the world by the flood and the fact that only the members of one family survived can be traced back in the Babylonian story of the flood:

"Three times (every 1200 years), the gods were distressed by the disturbance from human overpopulation. The gods dealt with the problem first by plague, then by famine. Both times, the god Enki advised men to bribe the god causing the problem. The third time, Enlil advised the gods to destroy all humans with a flood, but Enki had Atrahasis build an ark and so escape. Also on the boat were cattle, wild animals and birds, and Atrahasis' family. After the flood, the gods regretted their action, and Enki established barren women and stillbirth to avoid the problem in the future." (Dalley, pp. 23-35)

An Apache story of the flood confirms the biblical report in which the flood lasted for forty (40) days as well as the statement from the Bible that on the Doomsday the foul world will be destroyed by fire, in contrast to the time of flood,when it was destroyed by water.

"Before the Apaches emerged from the underworld, there were other people on the earth. Dios told an old man and old woman that it would rain forty days and nights. People were warned to go to the tops of four mountains (Tsisnatcin, Tsabidzilhi, Becdilhgai, and another whose identity is not known), and not to look at the flood or sky. The people did not believe the old couple. When the rains came, only a few people made it to the mountain tops and shut their eyes. ... Eight other people survived the flood who were able to travel by looking where they wanted to go, and they were there. These people told the Apaches about the flood before going into two mountains themselves. Around the turn of the millennium, the surface of the earth will again be destroyed, this time by fire." (Opler, pp. 111-113)

A Yoruba (southwest Nigeria) tribe's story reveals the obvious influence of the story of Enoch, who was installed in the firmament prior to the Flood owing to the fact that he consistently led his life according to God's will:

"A god, Ifa, tired of living on earth and went to dwell in the firmament. Without his assistance, mankind could not interpret the desires of the gods, and one god, in a fit of rage, destroyed nearly everybody in a great flood." (Kelsen, p. 135)

A Lithuanian tale of the flood can serve as a proof of the biblical story of God who, after the flood, spread the rainbow's arch across the sky:

"From his heavenly window, the supreme god Pramzimas saw nothing but war and injustice among mankind. He sent two giants, Wandu and Wejas (water and wind), to destroy earth. After twenty days and nights, little was left. Pramzimas looked to see the progress. He happened to be eating nuts at the time, and he threw down the shells. One happened to land on the peak of the tallest mountain, where some people and animals had sought refuge. Everybody climbed in and survived the flood floating in the nutshell. God's wrath abated, he ordered the wind and water to abate. The people dispersed, except for one elderly couple who stayed where they landed. To comfort them, God sent the rainbow and advised them to jump over the bones of the earth nine times. They did so, and up sprang nine other couples, from which the nine Lithuanian tribes descended." (Gaster, p. 93)

The tale of Maori, tribe from New Zealand confirms the fact that the Earth was flooded due to the humans' neglect of the worshipping of the Creator and that it changed a lot after the flood:

"Long ago, there were many different tribes, and they quarrelled and made war on each other. The worship of Tane, the creator, was being neglected. Two prophets, Para-whenua-mea and Tupu-nui-a-uta, taught the true doctrine about the separation of heaven and earth, but others just mocked them, and they became angry. So they built a large raft at the source of the Tohinga River, built a house on it, and provisioned it with fern-root, sweet potatoes, and dogs. Then they prayed for abundant rain to convince men of the power of Tane. Two men named Tiu and Reti, a woman named Wai-puna-hau, and other women also boarded the raft. Tiu was the priest on the raft, and he recited the prayers and incantations for rain. It rained hard for four or five days, until Tiu prayed for the rain to stop. But the waters still rose and bore up the raft. In the eighth month, the waters began to thin; Tiu knew this by the signs of his staff. At last they landed at Hawaiki. The earth had been much changed by the flood, and the people on the raft were the only survivors. They worshipped Tane, Rangi (Heaven), Rehua, and all the gods, each at a separate alter. Today, only the chief priest may go to those holy spots." (Gaster, pp. 110-112; Kelsen, p. 133)

In an Assyrian tale of the flood (from the epic of Gilgamesh) it is possible to perceive the seven-days cycle from the fourth Commandment which was projected on the duration of the flood: "For six days and six nights blasted the winds, flood and storms ravaged the earth. But on the dawn of the seventh day the storm hushed, having looted the world like an army. The sea stood still, hurricane calmed down and the flood was over."

Oone of the Chinese stories of the flood claims that all the Chinese descended from a single man by the name Nu-Vah, who managed to survive the flood. According to their calendar it happened in 2977 BC, which is only 200 years later then the biblical account. There were 8 persons saved in the boat.

The Chinese pictorial alphabet contains significant symbols: a tiny boat, digit eight and mouth (standing for at person) that all together make up a symbol for a huge ship:

 

There are many other Biblical truths hidden in the Chinese pictorial alphabet: