Was the Great Flood Only a Local Flood?

The Local Great Flood theory would suggest that the flood in Noah’s days was indeed historical. However it was a localized flood primarily in the Mesopotamian area that completely wiped out life in that area. In addition to all the Sumerian and other cultures of the area recording of a great flood, there’s also some geological evidence for a flood in that area a couple of thousand years ago.^[A]

The main issue with this theory is the terminology Genesis uses to describe the Great Flood. It constantly describes the destruction of the entire Earth, instead of describing it as a localized flood.

“And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, among the fowl, and among the cattle, and among the beasts, and among all creeping creatures that creep upon the earth and all mankind.

Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils, of all that were on the dry land, died.

And it [the Flood] blotted out all beings that were upon the face of the earth, from man to animal to creeping thing and to the fowl of the heavens, and they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark survived.” (Genesis 7:21-23)

Does that really sound like a local flood?

Additionally, it would seem strange that God found the need to save the animals on the ark if the rest of the world would have been flourishing with animals that would migrate back into Mesopotamia right after the local flood.

Moreover, had there been a local flood in the ancient world, we would expect to find breaks in civilization and animal habitat for many years until it suddenly reappears in the strata. But that isn’t the case. There seems to be a continuous presence of both humans (often complete civilizations) and animals throughout the ancient world – leaving no evidence for an ancient mass flood that wiped out complete civilizations to the exception of Noah.

It rather seems pretty obvious that we either accept the Great Flood as an actual universal flood, a metaphor, or as a mere legend. Explaining it as a local flood seems unlikely. The best that the local flood theory can explain is why there would be Great Flood legend all throughout the many ancient cultures of Mesopotamia – if indeed it is merely a legend and not history or metaphor. Meaning to say, that the authors of Genesis would have heard of a legend about a universal flood – a legend stemming from the real event of the local flood their ancestors must have witnessed. Over the years the real event of the local flood would have developed into a universal great flood with God saving one righteous figure. The writers of Genesis would have written down this disordered legend.

[A] https://ncse.ngo/yes-noahs-flood-may-have-happened-not-over-whole-earth