The outbreak of the Flood occurred at a precise, pre-planned moment. This exact timing highlights that the disaster was a deliberate act of divine providence rather than a random event of blind nature, demonstrating how all of creation obeys God. The arrival of the waters marked the end of a specific seven-day period that God had allotted to Noah in advance [רד״ק, קאסוטו, נתינה לגר].
Beyond a simple measure of time, this week carries deep symbolic weight. A primary approach among commentators understands these seven days as a mourning period for the righteous Methuselah. The act of mourning a righteous person serves as a spiritual shield for a generation, effectively delaying an impending disaster [תורה תמימה, שפתי כהן]. The passage of this time was inherently marked by sorrow, as God Himself mourned and waited seven days over the impending destruction of His world. Because He knows the future, His period of mourning took place before the actual death and devastation occurred [שפתי כהן, תורה תמימה, פרדס יוסף].
During this final week, the people of that generation experienced extraordinary events. Some suggest that God completely altered the laws of nature, such as causing the sun to rise in the west and set in the east [תורה תמימה]. Another striking perspective offers that God provided the people with an immense abundance of food and drink, giving them a brief taste of ultimate pleasure. Because seven days represents the maximum human capacity to absorb joy, this period brought them to the absolute peak of delight. The purpose of this overwhelming joy was to make them fully realize the magnitude of the good they were about to lose, ensuring their sorrow during the disaster would be profoundly deep and tangible [תורה תמימה].
When the waters finally arrived upon the earth, commentators differ on how the event unfolded. One view maintains that unlike natural rain, which begins gradually, the floodwaters struck immediately with massive force and total devastation, accompanied by sudden cloud bursts, thunder, and lightning [מלבי״ם, פענח רזא]. Conversely, another approach suggests a more gradual start, where the rain fell only until it reached Noah's ankles and then paused. This brief halt served as one final opportunity for the generation to repent and to complete the mourning period for Methuselah before the waters resumed their full destructive force. Additionally, the waters initially fell cold before turning boiling hot, acting as a searing purification process to cleanse the world of its sins [שפתי כהן].