בראשית, פרק ז׳, פסוק י״ח

The floodwaters enter a new and threatening phase as the familiar landscape completely disappears beneath massive currents. The only surviving structure begins its journey across the deep, marking a shift from passive flooding to a chaotic system of natural forces moving the Ark entirely without human control.

Commentators offer different ways to understand the nature of these rising waters. One approach focuses on sheer force and power, describing a fierce current that uprooted trees and toppled buildings [רמב״ן, העמק דבר]. This violent surge represented a total breakdown of the laws of nature. At the dawn of creation, God decreed that waters should gather in one place to reveal dry land. Now, the waters broke this fundamental law, rising up to overpower the earth [ביאור יש״ר]. Another perspective focuses on height and sheer quantity, suggesting the waters simply remained high above the land [שד״ל] and multiplied to enormous proportions [רמב״ן, רד״ק]. To explain how the waters are described as both growing in strength and increasing in number, some draw a distinction between quality and quantity. The first aspect refers to the destructive quality and strong current of the water, while the second refers to the massive volume that continued to grow [מלבי״ם]. This dual description highlights a gradual worsening of the disaster, showing that both the force and the amount of water reached unprecedented levels [קאסוטו].

The primary approach among commentators is that this stage occurred after the initial forty days of rain had already ended [מזרחי, גור אריה]. Consequently, the waters increased on their own [רש״י]. Rather than falling from the sky, the floodwaters continued to surge and burst forth from the deep underground springs [מזרחי, שפתי חכמים]. This continuous rise had no visible natural cause and was driven entirely by the decree of God [ברכת אשר על התורה, גור אריה]. Regarding the timeline of these events, some maintain that the very first day of the flood is included in the continuous counting of the dates [רא״ש]. Another view suggests that the narrative is actually describing the accumulated state of the waters up to that specific moment, which finally created the right conditions for the Ark to begin moving [ברכת אשר על התורה].

The massive upward push of water from the deep [ספורנו], combined with the overall increase in volume, finally lifted the Ark from its original resting place and carried it back and forth across the surface [רד״ק, מלבי״ם, קאסוטו]. This journey was entirely unique. The Ark was not a standard ship. It lacked a mast, sails, oars, or a captain to steer it [ביאור יש״ר, שטיינזלץ]. Although it drifted completely at the mercy of the raging currents, it was guided by miraculous divine providence. God led the structure gently and quietly over the fierce waters, ensuring the survival of Noah and everyone with Him [ביאור יש״ר].